


Wizards and Avalonians

by Pyeknu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Ikki Tousen | Battle Vixens, Urusei Yatsura
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 57,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyeknu/pseuds/Pyeknu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xover with other series. Side-story to "Phoenix From the Ashes." In the wake of HMS Hood's commissioning, many wizards and witches fear that the muggles now possess technology that would enslave them all. Harry is forced to work hard to make the aliens now living in Britain more acceptable to his kind. In doing so, he helps friends and lovers heal from the war with Voldemort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Man-Who-Won and the Ladies from Avalon

_**Wizards and Avalonians: The Man-Who-Won and the Ladies from Avalon**_  
by Fred Herriot  
A side story to _Phoenix From the Ashes_

Based on _Harry Potter_ , created by Joanna K. Rowling; _Ikkitōsen_ , created by Shiozaki Yūji; and _Urusei Yatsura_ , created by Takahashi Rumiko. 

Including characters, references and situations from _Mahō Sensei Negima_ , created by Akamatsu Ken; and _Kōtetsu Tenshi Kurumi_ , created by Kaishaku (Ōta Hitoshi and Shichinohe Terumasa). 

_Phoenix From the Ashes_ was derived from the fanfic _The Bet: Crippled_ , written by Gregg Sharp. This story also contains characters and situations from the fanfic series _Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year_ , created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot. 

* * *

**WRITER'S PREFACE**

_I did make mention of the various magical societies on Earth in various places in_ Phoenix From the Ashes _, especially when I brought in the character of Rear Admiral Heather "Spitfire" Thompkins in Part 51 of the story. This expands on the question of how the hidden magical societies on Earth might react to the Earth Defence Force and the Avalonians. The story begins a day after Luna Lovegood and Terry Boot returned to Britain from H.M.S._ Hood _as shown in Part 55 of_ PFtA _._

Enjoy! 

* * *

The Borough of Islington in London, in a hidden house on Grimmauld Place, Friday 9 July 2010, mid-afternoon… 

"Harry, why were _we_ invited to this? You know we can't…" 

A gentle kiss made the pretty — though also look prematurely aged for a woman who was physically only twenty or so — woman stop as she gazed into the warm green eyes of the Man-Who-Won. "Her Majesty wouldn't care, Mandy," Harry Potter stated as he gave Mandy Brocklehurst a reassuring look. "The invitation from the Palace indicated that not only was I to attend tonight's levée aboard _Hood_ …but my 'companions' as well. That includes both you and Pansy, plus Teddy's mother. I can't refuse, you know." 

Hearing that, Mandy's hazel eyes teared. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Harry?" 

"You tell me that every day," Harry said as he moved to pull her onto her feet, and then he looked towards the kitchen of the beautiful townhouse he had inherited over a decade before at the death of his godfather Sirius Black. "How's Dora, Pansy?" 

"She's fine. Quiet as a puffskein as usual, but fine," Pansy Parkinson said as she wheeled out a beautiful older woman in a wheelchair — magically enhanced, of course, to get around floor obstacles as well as ascend and descend stairs — to join her lover and would-be co-wife. "Just had to make sure all the charms were in place to keep her warm. With the low levels of magic she's got now…" 

"Would she be safe, Harry?" 

Harry gazed on the portrait of the elderly woman now mounted on the wall dividing the sitting room and the ground floor hallway leading to the front doors. "She should be fine, Grandaunt Walburga," he said as he gave the image of Sirius' mother Walburga Black a reassuring smile. "All of _Hood_ 's crew were given a carte blanche exception by Her Majesty from the restrictions in the Statute of Secrecy; given that Avalonians are all high-order psychics, it just didn't make any sense to try to keep the magical world hidden from them. And since _Hood_ is meant to protect ALL Britons — magical and normal alike — why keep us secret from the normals on that ship?" 

"Especially since two of those delightful Space Angels saved your poor cousin and adopted her as their child," the portrait of Walburga's great-grandfather, Professor Phineas Nigellus Black — the last Slytherin alumnus to be Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry — mused from his place close to the fireplace. 

"Especially because of that, Headmaster!" Harry affirmed with a nod. When he had been confirmed as the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black of Grimmauld in the summer of 1996, the portraits of his late godfather's relatives had warmed up immediately to the Boy-Who-Lived. Even if the orphaned child of James and Lily Potter was a half-blood in the eyes of the pureblood elite of British wizarding society, he had been magically adopted by Sirius Black before Phineas' great-great-grandson died at the hands of his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange at the fight in the Department of Mysteries just before the end of the school year. Despite Walburga having blasted off Sirius' image from the Black family tapestry in the 1970s for his turning his back on his family, her husband Orion hadn't formally disowned their elder son before his death in 1979…which gave Sirius the right to claim the headship of his family after he escaped Azkaban over a decade later. 

"Oh, speaking of which, Harry, how is young Margaret?" the portrait of Walburga's husband — which was mounted right beside his wife's image — then asked. "Ms. O'Neill and Ms. Carter haven't been by to visit for a while." 

"She's fine, Granduncle Orion. Doing really good in infant school; she'll be moving on to junior school in September. She's fully recovered from what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did to her after Dudley got sent to jail because of his drug problem." A shake of the head. "Stupid idiots…" 

"Harry, there are idiots everywhere you go," Phineas said with a touch of sympathy in his voice; despite Dudley Dursley's drug problems, that he had gladly accepted jail time for his crimes showed him to be a far more honourable man than his "perfectly normal" parents…both of whom were now learning how to survive in jail as they served time at Her Majesty's pleasure for their abuse of their only grandchild for the few bouts of accidental magic she had shown since Vernon and Petunia had taken Margaret into their custody two years ago. "Normal or magical, it doesn't matter. Just be happy that another of your mother's family is alive and safe." 

"And in good hands," Orion added. "The strength Ms. O'Neill and Ms. Carter showed to all those who hated the idea of their adopting young Margaret because they were aliens…even after what their so-called 'masters' did to them before the Earth Angel and her siblings freed them all…" 

"Indeed!" Walburga declared with an approving nod. 

Harry smirked. Ever since Margaret Dursley was rescued from her grandparents back in March thanks to Lucy O'Neill and her bond-mate Shelley Carter, the portraits of all of Sirius' relatives had expressed keen interest in meeting other Space Angels — as Avalonians were commonly referred to throughout the English-speaking world — who were now resident in Britain. Of course, while the scientific truth of such women tended to fly over the heads of most wand magicals — many of Harry's countrymen tended to view them as a very interesting version of a muggle golem, a being that a person could actually interbreed with and have human children with — the fact that the Man-Who-Won's own cousin had been rescued from the monsters who badly abused Harry Potter after his parents' deaths in 1981 was a mark in favour of such beings. In the wake of that, many magicals — guided usually by normal-borns — had gone forth to meet Avalonian-Britons and learn more about these beautiful psychics now living throughout the United Kingdom. 

It could have led to a very positive evolution of British wizarding society as a whole… 

…until the Avalonians' ex-masters and their allies on Uru moved to ruin it last week. 

And effectively forced many in wizarding Britain to confront the fact that the muggles now possessed technology that could be seen as truly magical in the eyes of many. 

Which allowed very old fears — the same fears that forced magicals to adopt the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1689 — to roar back from the depths of their souls like a tidal wave. 

Harry shook his head, which made both Pansy and Mandy grin. Twelve years of living with the Man-Who-Won had taught both his lovers a lot about his moods. "Still thinking about what's been said about _Hood_?" his Ravenclaw lover then asked. 

A sigh. "Yeah. Hopefully when Luna gets out that special addition to the _Quibbler_ on Monday, some of the fears will be chased away," he admitted. 

"If they don't end up being increased," Phineas mused from his portrait. 

"What do you mean, Professor Black?" Pansy asked. 

A chuckle. "You weren't around when news of Deannette Raeburn's Power Jewel broke out of Canada in the 1890s, Pansy. Naturally, there were elements of the Canadian Ministry of Magical Affairs who wanted to seize the thing and study it." He sighed. "Thank Merlin for the Niitsítapi; they had known the truth of that device for centuries. The one time some idiot from Ottawa tried to physically PULL the Jewel off that woman…" 

Morbid laughter filled the living room as Harry shook his head again. Given the fact that the Power Jewel now held by one Major General Deannette A. Raeburn of the Canadian Army had been on Earth for three billion years, it had absorbed incalculable levels of life energy — "ki" as the Japanese called it — to bestow on its chosen Host powers that were simply godlike in scale. With the Jewel on her person, no magical curse could hurt her, not even the Killing Curse. Dean could — after she had been trained by the Immortal Master Hosan Hirosuke himself in the 1920s and 1930s — dead lift the mass of a MOUNTAIN with both arms, fly through any medium at supersonic speeds, resist everything up to a thermonuclear bomb blast at point-blank range and do anything else she could imagine within certain self-imposed limits. Her marksmanship and swordsmanship — Power Jewels always came with a beautiful edged blade forged of pure neutronium that was normally called a "Cat's Claw sword;" for humanoid Jewel Warriors, such was always shaped like a straight-blade version of a Japanese katana with a deadly chisel point and a razor-sharp cutting edge — were incredible as well…and she had used such to devastating effect against the Axis in World War Two. When one saw the leader of the War Hawks in action, the reason many mystics and magicals respectfully referred to her as the "Protector of All Life" became very clear. 

"Well, that was resolved a long time ago, sir," Harry mused as he walked over to gently stroke Nymphadora Lupin's dark brown hair, which made the nearly-comatose auror — who had been struck down by Bellatrix Lestrange in the final Battle of Hogwarts in late August of 1997, most likely with the same type of curse that had struck down Neville Longbottom's parents years earlier — smile as she gazed up at her son's godfather. "Lucky thing the Queen didn't call the general in to help deal with Voldemort. It would have been a slaughter for sure." 

"True…but I can understand what made Deannette decide to not be a 'superhero' as the Americans like to refer to such beings," Phineas said before he perked. "Oh!" 

The fire in the living room hearth exploded in emerald flames as a pretty blonde woman about Harry's age came into the room. Like Harry and his companions, Luna Lovegood was dressed in fashionable clothes for a levée in the presence of the Queen. "Hello, everyone!" the daughter of the owner of the _Quibbler_ declared. "Ronald should…" 

"Hey, Harry!" 

Luna turned as someone else came through the floo. "Hey, Ron!" Harry said as he walked over to take Ron Weasley's hand in his own. "Got away from your mother, eh?" 

"Bloody right I did. Can't believe she won't listen to a damned thing about the real reason _Hood_ was commissioned," the star keeper of the Chudley Cannons — whose long losing streak had finally been broken in 2001 after the youngest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley had joined the team and they had charged all the way to the League Cup — said, and then he looked down at himself. "Well? Does this look pretty good?" 

Harry looked, nodding in appreciation. Ron was wearing a dark maroon blazer with a white shirt underneath topped with a red-and-gold Gryffindor tie, black slacks and a pair of Oxford shoes over his feet. "Looks perfect, Ron. Lucky thing for us that the Order of Merlin medallion is so similar to the Bath civil division star, so people won't be too curious. And they're charmed to look like the Bath star to normals." 

"Damn straight," Ron said as he gave his best friend a close look-over before nodding in approval on seeing how sharp-dressed Harry was; many of the Man-Who-Won's friends had long memories of the hand-me-downs Harry had always been given by his guardians until he took control of his family fortune in 1996 and decided to finally look the part of a young lord both in the magical and normal worlds. Noting the beautiful sash and medal star on Harry's blazer, Ron could only smile. They were both First Class winners of the Order of Merlin thanks to their spirited defence of Hogwarts in the final battle against Voldemort and the Death Eaters — Harry's award had also been given in recognition for his long-running battles with the Dark Lord ever since the Boy-Who-Lived began attending Hogwarts — so they wore the deep royal blue sash of the Order of Merlin from right shoulder to left hip, plus the star of the medal on the left flap of their jackets. Luna herself was a winner of the Order of Merlin Second Class; she didn't wear the sash of the higher award, but the star of that award was on her blouse under her left breast. Indeed, to most normal observers, The Most Honourable The Marquess of Taunton Deane and Grimmauld, Sir Ronald Bilius Weasley of Ottery Saint Catchpole and Dame Luna Selene Lovegood of Ottery Saint Catchpole would appear to be two young knight commanders and one dame commander of the civil division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath…which would ensure less work for the Obliviators given the mixed situation aboard _Hood_ this evening. 

"Hello! Harry?!" 

"C'mon in, 'Mione!" Harry called out. 

A lovely woman then stepped into the room through the floo. Like the others of the so-called "Golden Trio of Hogwarts," Hermione Granger had the sash and star of the Order of Merlin First Class on her dress under her business overcoat; given that the levée would be held on the open upper flight deck of _Hood_ , the chances were there that it would be chilly and she didn't want to use heating charms to stay warm. After a quick check of Ron to ensure the pureblood member of the Trio was properly dressed for a levée amongst the Royal Family and the normals, the Special Adviser on Normal Affairs to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement then walked over to look in on Pansy, Mandy and Dora. "Hey, Dora," Hermione said as she gently touched the wounded auror's chin. 

Dora's dark eyes turned to gaze absently at Hermione, and then a light smile crossed her face. "Even with all the research they've done, they still haven't really discovered what happened to her, huh?" Ron mused as he and Luna came up to gaze upon their nearly-comatose friend. 

"Not at all…but the healers at St. Mungo's have confirmed it's the same type of spell that really affected Neville's parents in '81," Pansy admitted as she gazed down at Dora. "Some sort of Lestrange family magic, I think. I've tried every potion I could think of — and even tried some of the experimental stuff Uncle Severus has invented since the war — to try to fully snap her out of it, but it doesn't work. At least the idea of getting her out of that place has done her some good." 

"How so, Pansy?" Luna asked. 

"She has been able to go to the washroom and back to her bedroom when she needs to. She also understands about eating even if Winky often has to hand-feed her," Pansy stated. "So that shows she is capable of some things. Neville's parents are pretty much the same way now that they're out of St. Mungo's and back home; at least, that's what Mike passed on to me from Neville himself." Michael Parkinson was Pansy's older brother. A former Ravenclaw, he had been a year ahead of his sister and had become the Earl of Keerford on the deaths of their parents just before the Battle of Hogwarts. And while the actions of the late Malcolm Parkinson concerning Pansy's future had caused her a lot of grief afterwards, the love between Michael and Pansy was as solid as neutronium. In the wake of Pansy becoming a squib thanks to a broken magical contract that Harry Potter had rejected out of a simple desire to not adhere to such nonsense, Michael always provided for his crippled sister and employed her as a private potions researcher; even if Pansy couldn't use a wand these days, her brain was still very sharp. 

Sadly, Mandy couldn't claim the same thing with the last living member of her family, her father Benjamin Brocklehurst. After Mandy had lost her magic when Harry had rejected the marriage contract that had been negotiated behind his back between Benjamin and Albus Dumbledore before the latter's death in the late spring of 1997, the potions store owner based now in Knockturn Alley had always acted as if it had been _Mandy_ 's fault that she had been forced to become a squib. And while Benjamin still denied his role in nearly wrecking his only daughter's life, he dared not do it in public these days; harassment of squibs — "non-magical magic-born persons" as they were properly titled these days — by any means had been outlawed in 2004. These days, the elder Brocklehurst publicly avoided Mandy like the plague; he had no desire to spend a year in Azkaban if the aurors — many of whom, in a desire to earn the favour of the Man-Who-Won, openly supported the reform movement he helped champion regardless of their own blood-status — caught him hurting his child more. Further, with the death of Mandy's mother Belinda and older brother Kenneth thanks to the Death Eaters in the fall of 1996, she had no family to her name outside the people she lived with at Grimmauld Place. 

"That's a good sign," Mandy noted, and then she took a deep breath. "Teddy!" she called out towards the hallway. "We're ready to go!" 

"Coming, Aunt Mandy!" 

Everyone watched as a grinning boy of twelve came down the stairs, followed by an equally smiling house elf in the formal robes of a servant of the House of Potter. Dressed smartly in his Hogwarts school robes — his school badges were spelled with a notice-me-not charm to ensure those normals who would take notice of it wouldn't get too curious — the only child of the late Remus Lupin and his wife Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin was literally bursting with excitement at the idea of stepping onto the decks of Britain's first ever _**starship**_. Fortunately for the adults in the room, Ted Lupin was wearing a bracelet that helped him control his metamorphmagus powers…though with the expected presence of one Rear Admiral Heather Thompkins aboard _Hood_ this evening, any accidental magical displays could be easily explained off. "Master Harry, Master Terry is all ready to go aboard the great sky ship," Winky proudly declared as she bowed her head to Harry. "Winky only wishes she could come with everyone." 

"Have you actually tried to teleport aboard _Hood_ , Winky?" Luna asked with a knowing smile. 

"Winky DID try, Mistress Luna!" the crimson-haired elf stated. "After all, Winky wants to make sure the places Master Harry and Master Harry's family are going to are safe for them! But the wards on _Hood_ are so STRONG! Winky couldn't get aboard to look around!" 

"Relax, Winky," Harry immediately stated on seeing that the poor elf was about to break down and cry at failing to properly serve her family. "Now, make sure the place is locked up while we're gone." 

"Of course, Master Harry!" 

" _Allons-y!_ " Pansy then called out. 

Everyone stared at her. "Pansy…no offence, but you bloody hell watch too much muggle television!" Ron said as everyone made their way to fireplace. 

"And what's the matter with watching _Doctor Who_ , Ronald?" Luna wondered. 

In a moment, everyone had disappeared into the floo… 

* * *

The City of Westminster, Ministry of Defence Headquarters… 

The people from Grimmauld Place immediately appeared in a private room in the north block of the building on the east side of Whitehall, said room equipped with a magical fireplace warded with muggle repellant and notice-me-not charms; only non-magical magic-born persons who worked for the Ministry of Defence — not to mention Avalonian-Britons who worked here; the news that muggle repellant and notice-me-not charms had no effect on Avalonians hadn't yet got out into the general magical public — knew of this place. And sure enough, a smiling elderly man in the uniform of an Army warrant officer class one of an infantry regiment was waiting for them. "Great-grandpa!" Hermione called out as she embraced the last regimental sergeant-major of the 4th/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, who had served in said regiment through two world wars. "How are you?! What are you doing here?!" 

"Well, I'm here to escort my beautiful great-granddaughter aboard Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ for Her Majesty's levée," WO1 Nathaniel Carter said as he allowed Luna, Pansy and Mandy to embrace him, and then he firmly shook Harry's, Ron's and Ted's hands before he walked over to gently embrace Dora, kissing her on the cheek. "And to announce to you that I've been called back to service. Part-time service, of course." 

Everyone gaped, and then they gazed on the hat badge on his peaked cap; Carter was in No. 2 service dress as this levée was not seen as an occasion requiring ceremonial uniforms. It had the beautiful star badge of the Royal Sussex Regiment, not the garter badge with dragon of the Queen's Regiment or the garter badge with dragon and rose of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment. "They reformed your regiment?" Harry asked. 

A nod as the old soldier waved them out of the room to the landing close to the north doors. The magicals were all quick to see him literally billow with pride as he answered, "All the old regiments that were active at the end of the Second World War were reformed as Territorial Army units over the last month, Director Potter." WO1 Carter tried not to preen. "Right now, just at one battalion per regiment…which, given the number of Avalonian-Britons and Terran-Britons now flocking to join the TA, means…" 

"Sixty-three infantry battalions and twenty-one armoured regiments," Hermione stated. 

"AND they're fully manned to…" 

"Bloody hell!" 

People paused on hearing Ron's exclamation, and then they paused to gaze on him. Noting that he was now staring off somewhere north of east, everyone looked themselves. 

The sight was impressive. 

"The Durmstrang galley is NOTHING compared to THAT!" Mandy whispered to Pansy. 

The raven-haired, brown-eyed alumnus of Slytherin could only nod. "Nothing that has ever flown or sailed the high seas can compare to that, Mandy." 

And it was quite understandable. 

Floating a half-kilometre above the waters of the Thames, Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ had her bow pointing west towards Buckingham Palace; when Harry had seen Britain's first starship from the roof of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes on Monday morning when she was commissioned by the Prince of Wales, the great vessel had her bow pointed east towards the North Sea. As she was currently "at anchor," the Union Flag was flying off her jack staff at the bow with the White Ensign at her ensign staff. From one of the booms projecting out from her foremast, a dark blue admiral's pennant with two gold maple leaves in horizontal formation flew; the maple leaves indicated that the force commander of the United Nations Earth Defence Force was currently aboard the British starship. No Royal Standard was visible on the ship; the Queen wasn't scheduled to arrive aboard for over an hour via Star Flare shuttle transporting her from Windsor Castle. Unlike other warships when they "dressed ship" in preparation for a visit from the Queen, _Hood_ didn't have the long cable lines that could have signal flags strung from them. But her cloudy grey hull with its sky blue sheen was currently aglow with running lights and external lamps that showed off her white-trimmed black pendant number **51** on the hull underneath the main bridge and the Union Flag painted on the hull aft of amidships; when evening finally came, the ship would look simply spectacular. 

"Ah! There you are!" 

Everyone turned…and then WO1 Carter walked over to take the hand of the man in dress blues with the Arms of Dominion on his lower sleeves denoting his current rate. "Warrant Officer Class One Paul Gordon. I'm _Hood_ 's Master-At-Arms," the newcomer introduced himself as he gave his equal in rank a polite nod. 

"Warrant Officer Class One Nate Carter. Regimental Sergeant-major, 1st Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment," the older man said before he proudly waved to Hermione — which made the other magicals all grin — as he did introductions. 

"Pleased to meet you all…and it's jolly good to see you again, Miss Lovegood," WO1 Gordon said as he waved everyone west down Horse Guards Avenue towards Whitehall itself. "Lucky thing our friends in the Horse Guards were willing to allow their parade square to be used by us to transport people aboard _Hood_." 

"Why not use the materialisers?" Harry asked. 

"'Materialisers?'" a confused Ron wondered. 

"It's their version of apparition, Ron," Hermione explained. 

He then nodded. "Oh, you mean transporters!" 

Luna laughed. "And you complained to Pansy about watching _Doctor Who_ , Ronald?" 

He flustered as the two elder servicemen laughed. "Lucky thing there's a whole bunch of young dragons ready to breathe some new life among magicals," Gordon noted. 

"Well, they are trying, Paul," Carter mused, glad to note that _Hood_ 's crew had been thoroughly briefed on Britain's magical side. "But the old pureblood gentry are still fighting tooth and nail to keep things as they were." A shake of the head. "Just the perfect thing to bring out another wanker like that Riddle fellow." 

"You can say that again," Mandy muttered under her breath. 

_Hood_ 's senior rate perked. "Something the matter, Ms. Brocklehurst?" 

"It's Mandy's father, sir," Ron answered before Harry could glare his friend into silence as his lovers really didn't care to have their non-powered state sung out to every person in sight…even if said person was a normal. "The bastard tricked her into signing a magical marriage contract to have her married to Harry here. But since Harry wasn't warned ahead of time, when he rejected the contract, she…well…" 

Gordon blinked, and then he sighed. "You have my deepest condolences, young lady," he said as he gazed intently at Mandy, who gave him a misty-eyed smile in return. 

Ron then thumbed Pansy. "Pansy here's the same way," he added. 

"I see," the master-at-arms breathed out. "Well, maybe we can do something about it when we're aboard. Come along now, people. The shuttle's this way." 

The magicals all blinked as Luna smiled a secret smile… 

* * *

Once they got to Horse Guard Parade, they boarded one of the Space Dhow SVC2 shuttles for the quick trip over the skies of central London to the _Hood_. Piloting the craft was an incredibly beautiful woman who had given Harry and Ron appraising looks before she glanced towards Mandy and Pansy with a nod in understanding. She was dressed in Royal Navy work dress with a jacket and baseball cap on her head. Her jacket epaulettes — as befitting a raw recruit in the senior service of the United Kingdom — were covered with bright blue slip-ons bearing a black rectangular patch on the base surrounded in gold ship's rope and topped with a naval coronet, the word **HOOD** in bright gold within the box. The white name tape on her left breast read **DOWDING L.** in black. Gazing upon her from her seat in the back of the small shuttle — and quickly noting how extraordinarily beautiful she was — Hermione leaned over to whisper to Harry, "Is she an Avalonian?" 

Harry nodded. "I think so," he whispered back. 

"Don't you recognize the name?" Ron quietly asked. 

"Huh?" 

"Leilani Dowding," Ron said. "She was one of those girls that appeared in muggle newspapers like the _Sun_ and all that." He ignored Hermione's incensed look as he added, "Luna told me all the Space Angels on _Hood_ were named after those girls." 

"Since when did you start reading the _Sun_ , Ron?" Hermione frostily hissed. 

"Oi! Even if I date Raven a lot, I'm still single! Give me a break!" 

Unseen by many of the magicals, a certain raven-haired, dusky-skinned Terran-form Avalonian-Briton would-be communications and information specialist — who had been elected as Elder Mother of the Avalonians now on _Hood_ earlier that day — was trying not to blush TOO much on being so readily recognized by Ron Weasley. Like all of _Hood_ 's current ship's company, Leilani Dowding had heard all the incredible stories about the magical side of British society since she had first woken after gestation aboard her current home starship back in March. And while she had been quick to sense the bonds of deep love Harry Potter's two would-be wives felt for him, the fact that Ron Weasley was still effectively single would certainly catch the interest of many of her sisters once he got aboard _Hood_. 

As soon as the Space Dhow had soared over the Thames north of Westminster Bridge into the sky over the borough of Lambeth, Leilani easily keyed the flight controls to allow the shuttle to perform a lazy starboard circle to the south, flying all the way down to Burgess Park before she turned the shuttle north, allowing the passengers in the back to see _Hood_ in all her vastness through the front windows. As the Golden Trio, Hermione's great-grandfather, Harry's godson and his would-be wives got out of their chairs to gaze on the massive starship ahead, they just fell silent as the sheer scale of Britain's first faster-than-light spacecraft sank in. "The bow's halfway between London Bridge and the Cannon Street Bridge…and the stern reaches right past Tower Bridge!" Hermione whispered. 

"That's one bloody BIG ship!" Ron breathed out. 

"How can it just FLOAT up in the sky like that?!" Mandy demanded. 

"Anti-gravity projectors in the hull, Ms. Brocklehurst," Leilani explained. "Right now, they're at a setting that allows the ship to hold position in a sort of 'parking float' over the Thames. If they were turned on full-force, planetary rotation would shoot the ship right into orbit." She gazed at her passengers. "That's not recommended, of course." 

"I'll bet," Pansy breathed out, and then she perked. "Is it true?" 

"What is, Ms. Parkinson?" 

"Some idiot Yank tried to blow up _Hood_ 's sistership _Arizona_ on Monday?" 

Leilani nodded. "Unfortunately so. Even if we don't mean you any harm, there are some natives who just don't care for the idea of having aliens live amongst them." 

"Why?!" Mandy demanded. 

"It's the same sort of reason people liked to burn magicals at the stake back before you had that secrecy statute passed in 1692, Ms. Brocklehurst," WO1 Gordon said as he looked over his shoulder at the former Ravenclaw. "Or the same sort of reason those who fought with that Riddle fellow your fiancé here had to put down in '97 — much less that Grindelwald bastard Admiral Thompkins and her friends helped put down in '45 — went after normals all the time. It's basic human nature. People sometimes can't accept others who are different. Different skin colour, magical or non-magical, normal or metahuman, Terran or alien…" A shake of the head. "Some people just love to stir up the pot for whatever reason fancies them, ma'am. Can't avoid that sort of rot." 

"So you put them down by whatever means possible," WO1 Carter added. 

The others nodded… 

* * *

Within a minute, the Space Dhow had slid perfectly into one of _Hood_ 's boat bays. 

There, Harry got a big shock. 

"Mary Caldwell?!" 

The lieutenant in her dress uniform laughed as she warmly grasped her old primary school classmate's hand. "Hey, Harry!" the pretty woman with the long brown hair in a bun and the glittering hazel eyes called out. "It's been a long time since we were at Little Whinging Primary, eh?! Always wondered what happened to you after we moved on to secondary school. Never believed that whole 'St. Brutus' School' rot your uncle and aunt put out to all the neighbours after you went off to Hogwarts. It's good to see you again!" 

"One of Dudley's victims, Harry?" Ron asked as he gave his friend a knowing look. 

"She was one of MANY of them, Ron," Harry admitted before he proceeded to do introductions. 

"So when did you find out Harry was magical, Lieutenant Caldwell?" Pansy asked. 

"Call me Mary," the junior anti-ship warfare director of _Hood_ said. "Didn't actually find out until I was assigned to this big boat here and we got briefed by Mr. Boot from your — Department of Mysteries, was it? — after Her Majesty issued the Magical Royal Proclamation allowing us to learn of magicals." She smiled as Leilani — who, after shutting down the Space Dhow, had gone off to get an anti-gravity chair for Dora Lupin — came up to rejoin them. "Here, let's get Mrs. Lupin into a chair." 

"Her normal chair is magically enhanced to work around floor obstacles, Mary," Pansy said. 

"True, but the magical wards on this ship could interfere with whatever you used on this chair," Leilani said. "Here, let's get her over. Give us a hand, Ted?" 

Ted — who had been stunned speechless when he finally got a chance to gaze upon the sheer beauty of the Avalonian-Briton who had brought them aboard — smiled as he helped his mother from her wheelchair into the floating anti-gravity unit. "Can you feel inside her, Ms. Dowding?" 

_Hood_ 's Elder Mother perked, and then she hummed as she reached over to gently touch Dora's face. After a moment, she shuddered. "I can barely sense her in there," she admitted as she and Mary guided Dora into sitting down. "What in Lyna's name happened to her?" 

"Some sort of family magic curse her aunt hit her with when we finally put down the Death Eaters in '97, Leilani," Ron said as Leilani helped adjust Dora into place, and then she placed her blanket over her lap. "Folks at St. Mungo's can't figure out what to do with her, though." 

Leilani hummed. "Maybe the Thoughtmistress-prime could look at her." 

"Who?" Harry wondered. 

"Moroboshi Negako," Mary provided. "You folks call her the 'Earth Angel.'" 

Save for Luna, all the other magicals gaped in shock… 

* * *

Within an hour, one of _Hood_ 's Star Flares SVC1s landed on the upper flight deck to allow the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to step aboard, they accompanied by Prime Minister David Cameron and a small party of senior officials…including Her Majesty's Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt and his Senior Undersecretary, Percy Weasley. To allow the levée to go ahead without any problems, snack tables and lounge chairs had been set up in the hangar itself — the other three Star Flares carried by the starship were currently on the ground at RAF Northolt in the borough of Hillingdon at London's far western end — thus allowing people to stay under cover in case inclement weather came in. Of course, _Hood_ 's crew — augmented by two hundred new recruits in proper square-rig uniforms, each wearing a sailor cap proudly declaring **H.M.S. HOOD** in gold on the black tally wrapped around the headband — were there to welcome Her Majesty aboard as her Royal Standard was broken on the foremast. Present to greet the Queen and her party was — atop the ship's commanding officer, Captain Nathan Kerr — Rear Admiral Heather Thompkins of Canada, Flag Officer Commanding United Nations Earth Defence Force…and to the magicals presently on _Hood_ , one of the most popular Supreme Mugwumps in the recent history of the International Conference of Magical Communities, ranked second only to Albus Dumbledore amongst British magicals. 

Watching the woman known more popularly as "Spitfire" escorting the Queen as she walked amongst the sailors of _Hood_ , Ron was quick to see the sash of the Order of Merlin wrapped around her black jacket. "Does she wear that when she's in public?" he asked Hermione's great-grandfather. 

"Oh, she does. But normal military people would see that dark red ribbon on her left chest first," the regimental sergeant-major of the Royal Sussex Regiment advised. 

"What is that, sir?" Mandy asked. 

"That's the Victoria Cross. With a bar to show a second award," Hermione explained. "It's the highest award of valour in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It ranks higher than an Order of Merlin First Class in the overall order of precedence." 

Harry then smirked. "Lucky thing Percy's predecessor as Senior Undersecretary is still cooling her arse in Azkaban at Her Majesty's pleasure," he whispered. "If she heard that a 'muggle' award ranked higher than an Order of Merlin…" 

The others snickered; they all had very dim memories of one Delores Umbridge…who had not weathered the attempted takeover of the Ministry of Magic by the Death Eaters during the summer of 1997 at all. After the Battle of Hogwarts and the total defeat of Voldemort's forces thanks to Harry Potter — who had been trained over the previous year by Nekane Springfield (the niece of the famous Thousand Master himself) and the Dark Lady Tsukuyomi…with clearance from the International Conference of Magical Communities — just before he would have begun his final year at Hogwarts, all those who had supported Tom Riddle in secret at the Ministry were sacked and thrown into Azkaban without delay. Umbridge — who had been in charge of "muggleborn registry"…but had been rendered utterly powerless when one of a series of emergency Magical Royal Proclamations from Buckingham Palace was issued to hamstring the ministry of Pius Thicknesse — was tried for multiple crimes, including her actions while serving as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts a year earlier. And while pureblood bigotry towards normal-borns like Hermione Granger and magical hybrids like Fleur Delacour-Weasley was still present — one only had to listen to the private conversations of people like Draco Malfoy and others like him in the Wizengamot chambers at any of the weekly meetings — the memories of the Second Purification War were still too fresh in people's minds to allow renewed legislature to be passed so things could return to the way "they had always been." 

Once the inspection of the troops was finished, the Queen returned to the dais to make a speech, and then everyone was dismissed to allow the levée to commence in earnest. As the sailors and Royal Marines went below decks to secure weapons and other kit before returning to the levée, naval reservists from H.M.S. _President_ based on the north shore of the Thames near Tower Bridge began serving food and drinks for all the guests. Everyone — save for Dora Lupin; Teddy was keeping close to his mother as she watched people around her, still as silent as the grave as her eyes flicked to and fro — had got drinks in hand by the time the Royal Couple had come up to join them, they accompanied by Nathan Kerr, Heather Thompkins, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Percy Weasley. 

"Lord Potter, it's wonderful to see you and your friends again," the Queen said as she gently took Harry's hand in her own. "How are you?" 

"It's always a pleasure, Your Majesty. And I'm fine, thanks," Harry stated; he had met the Queen at Hogwarts at the start of his last year there, when she had personally bestowed the Order of Merlin on him and his friends. After the monarch had greeted all the others and had been introduced to Hermione's great-grandfather, the Man-Who-Won then added, "I only just wish that things on our side of the secrecy divide were as calm as they have been since Riddle was finally dealt with thirteen years ago." 

The Queen nodded. "Yes, Harry, I've seen recent issues of the _Prophet_ and the various regional magical papers concerning this large ship Young Master Tsukihana and Young Mistress Ayami happily created for us." She then gazed in amusement at Luna. "I assume, Luna, your wonderful exposé of the Task Force's mission will make heads turn." 

"Hopefully so, ma'am," Luna vowed. 

"If it doesn't make people want to bury their heads further into the sand," Pansy noted. 

The Queen nodded again. "You have a point, Pansy. Kingsley, I thought you promised me that the silly restrictions about non-magicals born of magical families not receiving or maintaining the Order of Merlin were to be removed. Pansy and Mandy were both given third-class awards as I recall." 

A sigh. "Try as we might, Your Majesty, the pureblood faction in the Wizengamot simply refuses to see reason on that matter, much less all the other things that would help us finally come in line with continental Europe," the ex-auror rumbled. Everyone was quick to sense the frustration in his voice. "No matter what happens every time we try even the cosmetic changes, those people whose relatives fought under Riddle just refuse to bend an inch. It's been a miracle that we've been able to change as much as we have over the last decade, but…" 

The Queen sighed. "I will not resort to another Magical Royal Proclamation if it can be avoided." She intently gazed on the Grenadian-descent leader of her magical government as all the magicals near her sensed her drawing on the power of the Monarchy to get her point across. "But make it clear, Minister. Our patience at such intransigence is coming to an end. The next time a dark lord appears, the Separation Act will be done away with once and for all and We will be forced to rule you directly through Parliament. Many will not like THAT, I believe." 

A deep bow. "I will do so, Your Majesty." 

"If you want to make it a little easier, ma'am…" Heather coyly offered. 

The Queen hummed. "I wish not to be tempted, Admiral Thompkins. You and your friends can be very **excessive** when things get out of control. I want the magicals of this land to live in peace alongside the normals, not cower in fear even more than they normally do." She then smirked as a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eye. "But I will keep your wonderfully kind offer in mind, Heather," she then added. 

"We live but to serve, Your Majesty," the magical member of the War Hawks declared with a graceful bow. 

Morbid laughter escaped everyone there, and then the Queen went off to meet some of the chefs and stewards from _President_ who had prepared the snacks and drinks. As soon as the Golden Trio and their companions were alone, Ron leaned over to whisper to Harry, "Any sign of Rita Skeeter? Fred and George overheard her muttering into her cups about some 'dastardly plot' you were cooking up to destroy all the purebloods at the Leaky Cauldron last night." 

"I made sure she couldn't come, Ron," Percy whispered as Kingsley headed off to meet Home Secretary Theresa May, who had been chatting with Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox. "With the way the magical wards are on this ship — as Terry explained them to me — any animagus would be exposed as soon as she came within a yard of the hull." 

"Harry, why is it you don't just expose her and be done with it?" Hermione asked. 

"She still has her uses, 'Mione," Harry stated. "It's a pity Professor Dumbledore never thought to teach me how to use people like her when he was still alive. Nekane — and Tsukiko-sensei — certainly were much better teachers in that regard." 

Many of the magically-born people around him all shuddered on hearing the given name of Gellert Grindelwald's counterpart from Japan who was perhaps the most feared sorceress of her day…and who, unlike Grindelwald, had actually ESCAPED being persecuted for her actions thanks to the Americans, who — after capturing the woman born Yomigawa Tsukiko and known to her detractors world-wide as the "Dark Lady Tsukuyomi" in 1945 — realized what her true goals had been all along and used that to force the ultimate transformation of the International Confederation of Wizards to the modern International Conference of Magical Communities. These days — even if Tsukiko had been exonerated by the Emperor of Japan for her actions in World War Two and was seen as a freedom fighter of the first order worldwide — most British wand magicals still viewed her as an evil monster that smashed Europe's domination of the old ICW once and for all time. Her having taken Harry Potter under her wing in 1996 hadn't endeared Tsukuyomi to many British purebloods; her stern instruction of the Boy-Who-Lived had given him a very broad and deep understanding of chaos magic…which had made things VERY hot for many of Voldemort's fighters in the summer of 1997 when "Death Eater Season" had been declared open with no bag limit. Those who had died at Harry's hands during those bloody two months were often seen as the _lucky_ ones. It was only because of the Boy-Who-Lived's very quick and easy defeat of the Dark Lord — with very LITTLE casualties on the side of the light in the final battle — that had rehabilitated Harry's reputation and effectively guaranteed his becoming the head of the DMLE even after only five years' experience in the Corps of Law Aurors after graduation. 

"A pity he didn't do a lot of things, Harry. We still survived it," Percy then noted as he patted his friend's arm, and then headed off to join Kingsley. 

Heather took a deep breath. "Sometimes, that's the best thing to say about a war," she noted before sensing First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope approach. "Excuse me." 

As the Canadian rear admiral turned to shake the hand of the senior sailor in the Royal Navy, the others exchanged looks and sad nods. "To absent friends," Harry said. 

"Always. To absent friends," Nate Carter said as people hoisted their glasses. 

"Absent friends," the others intoned before they clinked glasses and drank… 

* * *

"Theodore. You appear to be rather lonely." 

Hearing that toneless voice, Ted blinked before he turned… 

…and then blinked again on seeing the twenty-something woman now standing close to him, dressed oddly in a black martial arts gi with a black belt wrapped around her waist, that decked out with a Chinese character in gold thread he didn't recognize. Noting how different she looked in comparison with other people here, he then sighed. "You shouldn't be dressed like that, miss," he whispered. "People will notice." 

"They will notice what they desire to notice," the newcomer said, which made him blink at her before he took a closer look. She was clearly Oriental by birth, with a full head of dark brown hair and eyes that were a very deep shade of brown up close. In a funny way, she seemed a kinsman to one of his godfather's special teachers from his sixth year at Hogwarts, Yomigawa Tsukiko…whom Ted thought was seriously awesome. She clearly was in excellent shape; one of the reforms instituted in Hogwarts after 1997 was to reintroduce various intensive physical training classes, which had been cast to the wayside over the latter half of the previous century…most likely — or so the conspiracy theorists said these days — in a way to weaken the overall strength of British magicals and ensure that a dark lord like Voldemort would never face powerful opposition. There also seemed to be an aura of terrible danger cloaking her from head to toe. Yet she also seemed quite polite and Ted couldn't see or sense a wand or wand holster on her. "There are those who know of me. Others do not. If they choose to learn, they will learn. If they choose not to learn, do not concern yourself with them. They will pass you buy." 

Ted stared at her, and then looked around. Sure enough, there were the odd people looking their way…but most of those people were nodding politely to the older woman with him; the others — after someone whispered something into their ear — also nodded in greetings before turning back to their own business. "That's some charm," he whispered as he turned back to gently touch his mother's cheek. 

"There is no magic involved," the stranger mused as a content smile crossed Dora's face on her feeling her son touch her like that. The newcomer was quick to note that reaction. "Your mother has not been fully affected by Bellatrix's living-death curse," the older woman mused as she reached over to gently touch several points on the former auror's forehead, which made Dora blink before she gazed in confusion at the newcomer. "It strikes me odd that the simplest solution to restoring your mother to proper health and vitality did not make itself apparent with the healers in charge of her care." 

Ted gasped. "Mummy can be cured?" he hissed out. 

A light smile — which seemed odd on such a severe-looking face — answered him. "She can. And while I understand that healers would be loath to kill one of their patients to save another — even three others, counting Neville Longbottom's parents — there are other means to restore your mother to health. Now, take your mother and proceed to the landing at the forward end of the hangar deck. Do not rush." 

Hearing that, he nodded as he moved to push the anti-gravity chair forward. Watching him go, Moroboshi Negako nodded before she glanced over to where Ted's current guardian and his companions were standing, chatting away with each other. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned both Mandy Brocklehurst's and Pansy Parkinson's ki signatures, and then she nodded before she moved to follow Ted and her mother off the hangar deck… 

* * *

Watching them go, Luna Lovegood smiled to herself. 

Sometimes, the best way to make change…was to ask the right person for help. 

The "stalebloods" — a recent nickname for purebloods that followed Voldemort's hard line that had come into vogue over the last decade; they loathed being called that as much as normal-borns hated being called "mudbloods" — wouldn't see _this_ coming… 

…until it was just simply too late to stop them. 

Smiling, the daughter of the _Quibbler_ 's owner turned back to her friends… 

* * *

For Ted Lupin, getting the chance to step into _Hood_ 's interior was simply wicked. 

Unlike older people in wizarding Britain, the young metamorphmagus' peers at Hogwarts hadn't gone totally sparse when the first images of H.M.S. _Hood_ flying over Diagon Alley were shown in the Monday evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_. Ted's peers had grown up in the wake of the Second Purification War, when wizarding Britain rebuilt itself from what the Death Eaters unleashed and moved to get on with their lives. The classes that came to Hogwarts post-1998 were under the stern guidance of Minerva McGonagall as their headmistress…and with the experiences of the previous seven years influencing her, the formidable mistress of transfiguration was determined to ensure another Voldemort would **_never_** rise from the ranks of Hogwarts students again. Of course — as Harry himself told Ted once — it certainly helped that one of the "emergency" Magical Royal Proclamations the Queen had issued in the summer of 1997 had completely severed all governmental controls over Hogwarts, granting it total independence from the Ministry of Magic. With that in place — and with the Board of Governors forced by that same Proclamation to swear a binding oath on their magic to always serve the interests of Hogwarts, thus effectively blocking moves to subvert the school curriculum to any political agenda — the changes McGonagall ushered in during her first years as Headmistress were still in effect…and soon restored Hogwarts' reputation as one of the world's top magical schools. 

And while many in the Ministry of Magic couldn't really complain about _that_ … 

…some of the changes were still making people gnash their teeth. 

Muggle Studies had been renamed "Studies of Non-Magical Peoples" and was currently taught by a normal-born who had gained a university degree from Cambridge after graduating from Hogwarts. History of Magic had its resident ghost teacher finally exorcised in late 1997 and was now taught by someone accredited from the Continent who DIDN'T concentrate on goblin rebellions all the time. Potions was taught jointly by Horace Slughorn and Severus Snape these days; with the discovery of "lost" magical objects from the Room of Requirement netting a lot of new operational funds, a third teacher had been brought in to instruct basic brewing techniques to the first years before Slughorn and Snape got a hold of them to expose the new students to the wonderful ways of potions. Additional teachers were also brought in to help with other core disciplines, which attracted the attention of companies across Europe who were glad to pour in sponsorship money to bring old classes back to life. Along with that came increase exposure to what had once been declared as "dark" or "forbidden" within the halls of Hogwarts. One such subject was technomancy, which had been outlawed for years in Britain but was accepted across most of the planet…and had been finally welcomed to Hogwarts as a third-year elective in 2000. With that, magical forms of television had come into serious vogue in Britain…with the first steps of a magical version of the Internet having been introduced two years ago. 

It was through the MagicNet — as the magical version of the Internet was normally called worldwide — that the first images of the _Hood_ taken from Diagon were seen by Ted and his peers hours before the _Daily Prophet_ came out with its Monday evening edition. 

And while older people in wizarding Britain went into a mass panic attack on seeing such a huge and well-armed "sky ship" — clearly, the word "starship" just completely flew over people's heads — Ted and his peers saw the _Hood_ as the most awesome thing ever to happen in their lives. 

It made television shows like _Doctor Who_ and _Star Trek_ and movies like _Star Wars_ seem all the more real! 

Even better, learning the Avalonians were providing the technology their own creators developed millennia ago — the same technology that had seen _Hood_ and her sisterships constructed thanks to a pair of bright young Japanese teenagers named Ki Tsukihana and Hakaru Ayami — to help Earth defend itself against aliens who'd want to conquer the planet made it all the more awesome. 

And now, Ted knew, all his friends would be BEYOND jealous of him. 

He was walking on the decks of _Hood_! 

Yeah, he didn't know why he was following the stranger right now… 

…but the person who guided him into this "turbolift" to travel down to Sick Bay — any self-respecting Trekker would know the meaning of THOSE words! — seemed pretty okay…even if there were things about her that creeped Ted out. 

After a quiet ride that took the car down into the main hull and forward a bit, the doors then swooped open into the waiting area outside the starship's primary medical station. Waiting for them there as Ted pushed her mother's chair onto the deck was a pretty woman in the square-rig dress of a sailor. "How are matters concerning the preparation of Nymphadora's new body, Nell?" Ted's companion then asked. 

A glance at Dora revealed no reaction; Harry had often told his godson about how much his mother always HATED being called by her full first name. "We're about a third of the way done, Negako-sama," the would-be medical assistant said as she moved to help Ted push Dora into the bright examination room beyond the main doors. "The elements of Mrs. Lupin's DNA that control her metamorphic and magical powers are taking time to properly encode into her new body, but the gestation should be finished before the levée ends." 

Hearing that, Ted blinked before his jaw dropped. "Wait…!" 

Negako gazed on him. "What do you conclude from what you have just heard, Theodore?" 

Ted gazed on her — as it dawned on him who THIS person was; Harry had told him about the Earth Angel — and then he blinked. "You're turning Mummy into an Avalonian?" 

"Do you disapprove of such an action?" the ninjutsu grandmaster then asked. 

He blinked — surprised that this woman cared for his opinion; most adults would be rather leery to allow a child such leeway, especially when it came to the future health of his own mother — and then he hummed as he recalled what he had learned about Avalonians from a normal-born classmate of his, Caroline Gleeson, before nodding. "Mummy would become a psychic. She would also live even longer than Nicolas Flamel and his wife did. She would probably keep her magic and metamorphmagus powers — you just said they were being 'encoded' into her DNA…" — he gazed on Nell McAndrew, who nodded — "…and that's the genetic building code for all things — so she could…finally…" He sniffed as tears filled his eyes. 

Instantly, Nell swept him into her arms as he began to cry. Watching her son weep, Dora moaned as she drunkenly reached over for her child. Noting that, the would-be medical assistant moved over to gently place the sobbing Ted into his mother's lap, and then she moved to give them both a supportive hug as Dora drew her child close. A quick mind-probe later, Nell then pulled away, smiling in reassurance at Ted and Dora before she moved to beckon Negako over to one side. "She barely knows him!" the would-be medic whispered once they were out of earshot. "Negako-sama, how…?" 

"Nymphadora gave birth to Theodore in one of the healing rooms in the permanent spell damage ward of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," the ninjutsu grandmaster noted, her voice quiet to allow Dora and Ted their moment together. "She never knew consciously that she was giving birth when he came to term in April of 1998; Nymphadora only realized she was pregnant in late August of the previous year, just before the final confrontation between Harold Potter and Thomas Riddle at Hogwarts. Still, with Harold's consistency in bringing Theodore together with his mother while she was convalescing at St. Mungo's, it forged a deep emotional bond." 

"Well, it will soon become a proper _shirei'cha_ bond," Nell mused with a smile. 

"Indeed it will. And once Nymphadora has recovered, Amanda and Pansy can recover from their fathers' foolishness." 

Nell smirked. "The bodies are already being prepped right now, Negako-sama." 

"Splendid." 

* * *

The upper flight deck, an hour later… 

"Utterly magnificent!" 

Harry perked on hearing that jovial voice, and then he smiled, offering his hand to the man now joining him by the edge of the flight deck overlooking the starboard aft-of-midships main gun turrets. "Good to see that you made it, Horace!" he called out. 

Horace Slughorn laughed as he firmly shook the hand of the son of one of one of his more promising potions students. "Glad to be here, Harry! My God, what on Earth are people moaning about when it comes to this ship?!" he said as he waved around him. 

"Oh, you know most people, Horace," a familiar witch's voice declared with her normal detached sternness, which made Harry grin as he turned to watch the current headmistress of Hogwarts come up, accompanied by the other heads of houses and the youngest potions master to have emerged in Britain in centuries. "If it comes at them suddenly, they always panic and think the sky's about to fall onto their heads. Hello, Harry!" 

"Hey, Aunt Minerva," Harry said as he warmly embraced Minerva McGonagall, then did the same to Pomona Sprout before he shook the hands of Filius Flitwick, Severus Snape and Ron's brother Charlie; he had become the head of Gryffindor in 1997 when Minerva had become headmistress. "Have you had the chance to meet Admiral Thompkins?" 

"We did," Filius stated. Like the others from Hogwarts, he was dressed in normal-looking civilians, his second-class Order of Merlin — of all the Hogwarts teachers active at the time of the final battle against the Death Eaters, only Severus had won the first-class award for his long and dangerous work as a spy for Albus Dumbledore — hanging proudly from his jacket. "Of course, Minerva was a student — and Horace a teacher — at the time the War Hawks used Hogwarts as their base of operations for the final attack on Nurmengard in 1945, so they had met Admiral Thompkins and her friends much earlier." He then gazed on Luna. "So how was the trip to this Yaminokuni planet, anyway? Was there any effect on your magic or Terry's magic when you were in space?" 

"None at all, Professor," the daughter of the owner of the _Quibbler_ said. "We didn't go down to chase the Urusian Imperials and that Ōgi monster into the Dark Grove south of the planet's capital city, Muzlim Madiina, like the Xiàolíng Emperor and her brother and sister tōshi did…but it appears that magic is as normal on other planets as it is on Earth." She then smiled. "Then again, there were other things to distract both Terry and I — Alejandro, too — while we were with the Task Force." 

"How so, Miss Lovegood?" Severus asked. 

"Three of the Xiàolíng's children were restored to life during that trip, Professor: The Prince Huái of Hóngnóng, the Xiàoxiàn Emperor and the Prince Yì; he was one of the Xiàolíng's children who never survived childhood." As the others nodded — as it had been explained to many people of the Task Force during their mission when asked, the Xiàolíng Emperor of Hàn was seen far more positively by magicals these days given his sponsorship of the first imperial Chinese magical schools…which, to one extent or another, still survived to this day — Luna added, "Terry did the Neuwied Test on them. The Prince Huái scored 367 points on the Test and the Xiàoxiàn Emperor scored 418 points on the Test. Sadly, Prince Yí scored only 66 points." 

Silence. 

"Merlin's Beard…!" a white-faced Charlie gasped. "How…?" 

"Well, the Prince Huái…" 

"Harry?" 

Harry perked as Hermione came up to join them. "What is it, 'Mione?" 

"Have you seen Ted or Dora anywhere?" 

People paused to look around. "I haven't seen them since after the Queen came aboard and the levée started," Pansy noted. "Maybe…" 

"Just a moment," Luna said. "Computer, locate Theodore Lupin!" 

" _Theodore Lupin is in Turbolift 29, approaching Upper Hangar Deck flats_ ," the polite male voice of the ship's computer answered from everywhere around them. 

"Merlin!" Pomona gasped. "What was that?!" 

"You can ask the main computer of the ship anything even out HERE?!" Ron wondered. 

"Anywhere on the ship…Mister Trekker," Luna then teased. 

Ron blushed as Charlie laughed. "Hey!" the former yelped. 

"Something wrong?" 

People turned as Kingsley and Percy came up to join them. "Yes, Minister Shacklebolt. People lost track of Harry's godson and his mother," WO1 Nate Carter explained. "Luna here was more than happy to show us the internal ship's locator system to find him." 

"There he is!" Mandy said, pointing. "He's got his mother with him." 

"Must have gone to the heads," Carter then mused. 

"'Heads?'" a confused Percy asked. 

"Toilet, Mister Undersecretary," the RSM of the Royal Sussex Regiment explained. "The Navy has its odd language, just like magicals do." 

A chuckle. "Oh!" 

"What's with Dora?!" 

Hearing Pansy's concerned question, everyone looked over… 

…and then blinked on seeing the polite smile on Nymphadora Lupin's face as she was pushed towards the other magicals by her beaming son. "What on Earth…?" Kingsley declared, and then he turned to Harry. "Has she ever acted like that, Harry?" 

Harry shook his head. By then, the Lupins had come close enough to be able to speak to their friends without shouting. Stopping the chair his mother was sitting on, Ted then moved to slip the blanket off her. People then gaped as Dora calmly stood up from her chair and walked straight over to Harry, her movements stiff but relatively fluid. As the Man-Who-Won gaped in shock at the sight of the former auror acting like this, Dora came up to him…and then she threw her arms around him as she landed a tongue-filled kiss right on his lips. Mandy and Pansy both squawked in shock on seeing that while the others gaped…and Luna was grinning like a cat that had just caught the canary and eaten it before the owners got home. As Harry — given that both of his lovers were squibs now, any move to formally marry either Mandy or Pansy had been constantly blocked by the Wizengamot — found himself warming up to the passion flowing into him from Dora, the others just watched this…until Filius drew out his wand and whispered a spell to begin the diagnostics necessary to determine one's Neuwied Test score. 

Seconds later, a ghostly parchment appeared…which made the charms master and former master duellist gape in disbelief. "Oh, Merlin…!" 

Minerva looked over. "What is it…oh, my dear…!" 

Mandy, Pansy and the other magicals save Luna looked. 

They blinked. 

Jaws were now down around their knees. 

And none of them could say a damned thing. 

Gazing at the ghostly parchment, WO1 Carter blinked before he gazed on Luna. "Tell me, Luna…is a score of _**three hundred-and-five points**_ respectable for wizards?" 

"Oh, it's quite respectable," Luna said. "Harry's score is 244 points…and he's seen as one of the most powerful wand-wizards alive. Nowhere close to Admiral Thompkins' score, of course. She actually ranked 504 points on the Neuwied Test when Master Unspeakable Neuwied first demonstrated it at the ICMC chambers in Geneva back in 1984." 

Everyone turned to gape at the daughter of the owner of the _Quibbler_ …and then they blinked on hearing the voice of their sovereign ask, "So now that young Ted's mother has recovered, could Harry's other companions be allowed to recover from what their foolish parents forced on them all those years ago, Negako?" 

"Oh, indeed they could," a tonally-flat voice answered, which made almost all the magicals freeze as they sensed a great, dark aura emanating from somewhere behind them. "Once Amanda and Pansy have become Avalonians, they can proceed to act as Harold's proxies in the Wizengamot and help force through the necessary reforms you have long desired that element of your government to legislate after Thomas Riddle and his subordinates were permanently dealt with in 1997." 

People turned to look… 

" _ **THE GRIM!**_ " Ron then screamed as he leapt up into the air… 

…only to be snared by a glowing chain of energy ending in a grappling hook, which wrapped around his arms and waist three times before he was yanked away from falling off the flight deck to the tumbledown below — thus falling straight off the ship over a half-kilometre to the waters of the Thames — and then he got yanked over to hang in the air close to Moroboshi Negako's left leg. "Ronald," the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū calmly stated. "Do you wish to kill yourself?" 

Ron blinked as the others — save Harry, who was still enjoying the wonderful kiss Dora was giving him — all stared wide-eyed at the woman in black. 

Except Ted; he was trying desperately not to laugh… 

* * *

The upper aft wardroom, fifteen minutes later… 

"So you ASKED the Lady Negako to help Dora — and Mandy and Pansy as well! — become Avalonians all to give Kingsley the necessary votes in the Wizengamot to finally put a stop to Malfoy and his idiots filibustering every attempt he, Percy or Harry make to push through reforms?!" 

Luna nodded. "Of course, Hermione. Believe it or not, Lady Negako is quite willing to assist people who request her help when it's for a good cause." 

Everyone stared at her…save Harry, who was currently trying to calm down the **very** passionate woman now glued to one side of him. Mandy and Pansy were also missing; both had been taken by Negako down to Sick Bay to have them undergo their body-swaps. "Um, not that we don't mind your helping us, Luna, but why…?" Percy demanded. 

A sigh. "Percy, do you have any idea how bad it could have been thirteen years ago?" 

People blinked. "What do you mean?" Ron asked. 

"As you know, Ron, I do have a Seer's gift," Luna explained. "With that gift, I had a good idea of what might have happened hadn't Professor Springfield and the Lady Tsukuyomi stepped in to train Harry in secret during his sixth year to put down Tom and his friends, not to mention get rid of Tom's delightful trinkets." No one, of course, _ever_ mentioned the word "horcrux" in public. "If Harry hadn't been properly trained by them — given that Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to care about giving Harry any sort of serious training because of his blindness due to that prophecy Professor Trelawney gave in 1980 that stated the whole mess — what could have happened?" 

The others considered that. "It would have probably taken much longer than two months for Harry to get rid of those things before he could face Riddle down and make sure he stayed dead when he was struck down," Percy noted. "In the meantime…" 

Everyone else nodded. "There but the grace of the Fates go I," Horace mused. 

"So by restoring Amanda's and Pansy's magic to them…" Severus moved to recap. 

"They can then serve as proper proxies to Harry since he — as head of both the House of Potter and the House of Black — controls eight votes in the Wizengamot," Luna finished. "As Director of the DMLE, Harry can't vote. As we're all quite well-aware, Draco and his friends have taken advantage of that. Without the Potter/Black votes, the current number of seat votes that could be used is 78. Of them, 30 votes are aligned to Draco and his coalition. The remaining 48 votes are now divided between a neutral block of nine votes and the 39 votes that normally support the reform movement Kingsley, Percy and Harry have championed over the last decade. With the eight extra votes now in play…" 

"It would finally overcome the fifty percent-plus-one vote parity needed to pass legislation in the Wizengamot," Horace completed for the younger woman. "Given that most of the neutral votes would align with the reform movement if given the chance — and if they weren't so scared of Draco and his friends — that would ALSO get past the sixty percent-plus-one vote parity necessary to shut down any filibustering in the Wizengamot chambers." He then chuckled. "Luna, why on Earth weren't you a Slytherin?!" 

"Oh, that's not all, Professor," Luna said with a knowing smile. "Think of what just happened to Dora here. And think of what will soon happen to Mandy and Pansy." 

Eyes locked on the contently-smiling Dora. "Oh, my heavens…!" Filius breathed out. "Fifty points to Ravenclaw, Luna! Well done, my dear! Well done!" 

"I don't get it," Ron mused. 

A smile. "It's simple, Ron. Dora here was nearly stripped of all her magic when her aunt struck her down. Yet here she is, more powerful than ever — I recall her last Neuwied Test scoring her at 189 points in 1996 — and ready to take up her duties as Teddy's mother. We all KNOW how Avalonians feel when it comes to the care of children, don't we?" As people nodded, Luna smiled. "We can play up on that. After all, Harry's cousin was rescued by two Avalonians from the Dursleys, remember?" 

"No doubt, Malfoy will try to play up the connection between the Avalonians and this ship to make magicals in Britain be afraid of them, Ron," Charlie added. "By helping Dora recover from what her aunt did, plus give Mandy and Pansy their magic back…" 

"It could easily make Avalonians as a whole look to us like what most normals in Britain see them as: Angels of the stars," Horace stated. 

"Why thank you, Thoughtmaster-prime!" one of _Hood_ 's stewards, Zoe McConnell, called out from the bar nearby before she turned back to the cups she was cleaning. 

The current head of Slytherin blushed on being called that. "Not that the titles they use for teachers aren't the least bit wrong, either," he then whispered. 

Everyone else laughed. "And with Avalonians interbreeding with normal Terrans, the chances are quite good that we'll be seeing _Avalonian_ witches and wizards attending Hogwarts in the next decade," Minerva added. "With their powers…" 

"Most magicals don't have problems with metahumans, Minerva. Especially given the example of the War Hawks when they helped Albus put down Grindelwald," Severus noted. "Avalonians — when one tears away all the complaints about their artificial and alien origins — are metahumans by the classic sense of the term." 

"Harry…" 

People's heads snapped around… 

…and then they gaped as two typhoons of VERY happy Terran-turned-Avalonian witches leapt over to swamp the Man-Who-Won with hugs and kisses. As a beaming Nell McAndrew watched from nearby, an amused Moroboshi Negako contently nodded before she perked. "Winky!" she then called out. "Come here right this instant!" 

_Pop!_ "Did someone call for Winky?" a curious house elf then asked as she looked around in confusion. 

"I did." 

Winky turned… 

…and then her eyes went VERY wide on seeing the woman in black standing nearby. "The Great Angel of the Earth…!" the former house elf of the Crouch family then breathed out in reverent awe before she bowed her head politely to her. "You called Winky, Great Lady?!" 

"Indeed I did, Winky. As you will see there, Harold is about to engage in considerable carnal congress with Amanda, Pansy and Nymphadora," Negako said as she nodded towards the three giddy witches piling on Harry Potter. "Would you transport them to their bedroom at Grimmauld Place so they can enjoy some privacy, then transport Theodore here home so he could get some sleep?" She indicated the blushing young metamorphmagus beside her. "He has had a most emotionally exhaustive evening." 

After nearly fainting on sensing the incredible power now billowing from her Mistress Mandy, Mistress Pansy and Mistress Dora, Winky then grinned. "Winky will do that, Great Lady!" 

_Pop!_ The four adult magicals and their teenager charge vanished. "Wait a minute!" Hermione then declared. "The wards on this ship prevent house elves from coming aboard _Hood_! How in Merlin's name did Winky teleport herself up here?!" 

Negako gazed at her. "Magic, of course. How else would she come here, Hermione?" 

As the normal-born gaped in shock, the other magicals fell over laughing. "In the meantime, Percival, I require your assistance," Negako then called out as she turned to leave. 

Percy perked. " _My_ assistance, Lady Negako?" 

"Yes. Given what I just discovered concerning Nymphadora, I believe I can assist both Franklin and Alice Longbottom in recovering from what Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband and brother-in-law did to them in 1981. The staff at St. Mungo's will have to be alerted as well; I sensed the backlash in magic when I used the soulsword to sever the curse bonds between Nymphadora and Bellatrix that rendered Theodore's mother nearly comatose in 1997. Come along now." 

The third-oldest Weasley child blinked, and then he raced off after Negako. "Blimey!" Ron then breathed out. "Is the Earth Angel always like _that_?!" 

"So I've been told," Luna noted before sipping her tea… 

* * *

Islington, 12 Grimmauld Place, Saturday 10 July, after breakfast… 

The fires of the floo burned bright as a very stocky and muscular man came through. A soft _pop!_ then heralded the arrival of Winky from the kitchen. "Master Neville!" the smiling house elf said before she curtseyed to the current Marquess of Holdenhurst. "Come in! Come in! Master Harry and his wives are still asleep now, but Winky will make some tea for Master Neville while he waits for them to wake up!" 

Neville Longbottom blinked…before he gaped. "Merlin! You mean…it's all true?! The Earth Angel actually helped Pansy and Mandy get their magic back?!" 

A nod. "Yes! Mistress Dora is recovered, too! Master Teddy is so happy!" 

Neville gaped…and then he laughed before moving to take his seat in the guest chair. "Smashing! Some coffee instead, Winky! I've had quite the morning with my parents now on their feet!" 

"Right away, Master Neville!" _Pop!_

"That's wonderful news, young man!" Orion Black then declared from his portrait. 

"Did your mother have to become an Avalonian like poor Dora did?" Walburga Black then asked; she had travelled over to her husband's portrait to be with him that morning. 

"Fortunately, no," Neville said as Winky popped back in with a cup of coffee. "The Lady Negako said that by returning Mum and Dad to the ancestral home a few years ago, the family magics helped heal their bodies from the damage that was done to them by the Lestranges and Barty Crouch. Dora didn't get that sort of chance when she was moved here since this wasn't her grandmother's home." A sigh as Winky popped back out again. "Probably explains how Barty was able to pretend to be Alastor Moody back in fourth year FOR A WHOLE YEAR — even _with_ polyjuice! — after over a decade of being under the Imperius; he was kept hidden at his family's home in Wells all that time. Can't believe that no one ever considered _that_ …!" 

The portrait of Phineas Black nodded in understanding. "Understandable. Before St. Mungo's opened their permanent spell-damage ward, people who were comatose from things like long-term Cruciatus Curse exposure were always cared for by house elves at the family hearth. What about Bellatrix, though? I know about the soulsword and what it can do. Did she survive the Lady Negako using it to help heal your parents?" 

"She did…but somehow, she got enough magic in her to apparate herself right out of St. Mungo's!" Neville reported, which made all the portraits in the living room gasp in shock; Britain's primary magical health care facility had very strong wards to guard against things like that, from both inside and outside. "I've alerted the aurors about this. She doesn't have a wand, but if she could do THAT…!" 

"What a disgrace that girl was!" Walburga then muttered. 

"'Morning, Neville…" 

Neville perked as the Man-Who-Won came into the living room, dressed in a housecoat. "'Morning, Harry," the visitor from Bournemouth mused as he gave his friend a knowing look. "I take it that your night was quite exciting." 

Harry moaned as he collapsed into a nearby chair, and then nodded thanks as Winky popped in with a cup of breakfast tea. "They wouldn't stop, Nev…!" 

Neville laughed…and then he turned as the hearth flames flared to allow Ron to walk in. "Hey, Ron! How are things at your house with Ginny?" 

Ron had a delighted grin from ear to ear. "Mum's beside herself right now…oh, thanks, Winky!" he said after taking his seat and being handed a cup of breakfast tea by Winky. "Ginny's asleep in her bedroom now; she just did the body-swap a couple hours ago and she needed some rest. That nice mediwitch from _Hood_ — Nell McAndrew — is watching over her now." 

"They don't call them 'mediwitches' on _Hood_ , mate," Harry noted. 

"What do they call them?" Neville asked. 

"Well, according to Lucy and Shelley, the Sagussan equivalent of a mediwitch or mediwizard is called _eii'sagh_ , which literally means 'second-rank healer,'" Harry explained. "Fully-fledged healers and doctors are simply _i'sagh_ or 'healer.'" He then gazed on Ron. "So Molly's no longer complaining about the _Hood_ , I take it?" 

A snort. "After helping Ginny recover from what that bastard Riddle did to her before you killed the berk, Harry? What do you think?!" Ron demanded. As his fellow Gryffindors laughed, the youngest Weasley son then sighed. "Still…" 

"Still what?" Neville asked. 

"What the heck does _marei'cha_ mean?" 

Harry jolted. "Why are you asking **that**?!" 

"I heard Nellie call Ginny that before I came here." 

Neville gazed on a white-faced Harry. "Um, Harry…" 

The Man-Who-Won sighed. "Ron, I hate to break this to you…but as of whenever Ginny and Nell soul-bonded, she became your _**sister-in-law**_." 

Silence. 

More silence. 

Still more silence. 

And then… 

Ron's eyes rolled into his head as he dropped to the floor in a dead faint. Staring at his best friend, Harry sighed. "He took that very well. Didn't he, Nev?" 

"Sure did, Harry," Neville mused as they sipped their drinks… 

* * *

The City of Westminster, the Diagon Alley branch of the International Mercantile Bank of Gringotts, an hour later… 

"My baby's married…my baby's married…my baby's married…!" 

"Mary." 

Molly Weasley jerked on hearing that toneless voice from nearby. 

"Do cease that. You are embarrassing both Ginevra and Nell." 

The matriarch of the Weasleys of Ottery Saint Catchpole rapidly nodded her head as her husband Arthur gave Negako an appreciative look. Watching this from behind his desk, Griphook — who, atop being the estate manager for the combined Potter/Black accounts, also was manager to the accounts of many of Harry Potter's friends — tried not to smirk too much at the sight of the normally boisterous woman being humbled by the Earth Angel with just a look and a flat statement. Nearby, both Ginny Weasley and Nell McAndrew-Weasley — as the latter would now be referred to officially in British magical records — were sharing a content look as they grasped hands and allowed their foreheads to touch. Sensing the powerful bond of magic and psionics forging between the young Terran-turned-Avalonian witch and the Terran-form Avalonian would-be Royal Navy medical assistant, the goblin then turned back to Negako; within the halls of Gringotts, the ninjutsu grandmaster was automatically seen as the legal guardian of any pure-born Avalonian from the Earth Defence Force…even if legally, Nell was an adult by British normal law. "So you give your approval to the marriage and soul-bonding between the Young Mistress Ginevra Weasley and Apprentice Healer Nell McAndrew, Lady Negako?" he ritually asked. 

A nod. "I do, Griphook. The _marei'cha_ bond between then was forged shortly after Ginevra underwent the Awakening and they saw in each other their perfect mate." As Molly sobbed on hearing that and Arthur moved to shush her, Negako added, "Once the _marei'cha_ bond forged, the magical soul-bond marking their becoming a married couple by British magical law was also forged and registered in the Department of Mysteries. Terrance Boot contacted me to inform me of that; that is why I am here. He also promised that the official public revelation of Ginevra's soul-bond to Nell will await the next legislative meeting of the Wizengamot. And the time that Amanda Brocklehurst-Potter and Pansy Parkinson-Black are permitted to formally take up their shared husband's family votes in that chamber." 

"Harry's married…Harry's married…Harry's married…!" 

" _Do_ cease that, Mary." 

Molly gurgled as she felt Negako's annoyed stare fall once more on her. As Arthur chuckled, the grandmaster then gazed on Griphook. "Now, I have been told by Cambria, Britannia and Caledonia that they wish to have their accounts within Gringotts managed by an energetic administrator," the visitor from Tomobiki added. "Would you desire to perform this task, Griphook?" 

The Weasleys watched as the goblin before them literally explode with pride on being asked _**that**_. "Please inform the Lady Lieutenant Nelson, the Lady Captain Wellesley and the Lady Flight Lieutenant Mannock that they can count on me, Lady Negako!" 

"I will do so, Griphook. Now, if you will excuse me, there are certain problems I am required to help resolve concerning a new friend of the family back home." 

A deep bow. "Of course, good lady." 

With that, Negako walked out of the room. The Weasleys watched her go, and then Arthur turned back to Griphook. "Manager Griphook, who was the Lady Negako speaking of?" 

Griphook grinned. "Your country's _Steel Angels_ , Director Weasley!" 

Silence. 

More silence. 

Still more silence. 

And then… 

Molly grew faint as Arthur gaped. "Wow…!" Ginny breathed out… 

* * *

Minutes later, the Weasleys and their new in-law stepped out of Gringotts. Much to Ginny's embarrassment, the front door guards snapped to attention and bowed their heads in their direction. Nell — who was in dress uniform — saluted in return. "Thank you, Resource Guardians," she ritually declared, using an old Sagussan title for those who protected the wealth of the community from theft. "Peace, logic and harmony to you all." 

"You are too kind, Lady Healer," the bank guard to the Weasleys' left then ritually stated. "May your skills in saving lives never fail you!" 

"Good day." 

And with that, the four people stepped onto Diagon Alley, heading over towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes right beside the Flourish and Blotts Bookseller store in the general direction of the Leaky Cauldron. Stepping out of the bookstore at that time was a smiling Hermione Granger…with, as a grinning Ginny was quick to note, a bag of books in one hand. "'Mione!" the youngest Weasley called out to her old housemate, waving. 

Hermione's head snapped over…and then she squealed on seeing Ron's sister now on her feet and clearly recovered from the horrid curse Voldemort had unleashed on her thirteen years before. " ** _Ginny!_** " she called out as she ran over to draw the younger woman into her arms…and then she blinked. "Oh, my…!" she breathed out before her eyes fell on Nell, and then she grinned. "Congratulations!" 

"Um, Director Granger…?" 

Hermione turned…and then she smiled. "Ms. Braithwaite!" she said as an older woman — Betty Braithwaite was a Gryffindor who graduated from Hogwarts the year after Voldemort fell the first time — came up to her, accompanied by her cameraman. "I'm sure the readers of the _Prophet_ would be interested to learn how my friend here was allowed to recover from a thirteen year-long near-coma at the hands of the traitor Riddle thanks to the Avalonians." 

Betty — who was, in the opinion of Harry Potter and his clique of friends, a much better reporter than Rita Skeeter — blinked. Staring at her, the older Weasleys could imagine the Illuminating Charm go off in the reporter's head, flashing **STORY!** again and again. As people who had overheard Hermione's statement stopped to stare wide-eyed at Ginny, Betty quickly recovered herself as she drew out a pad and pen — as a normal-born, she REFUSED to use a Quick-Quotes Quill! — and then she smiled. "Well, first of all, I hope I'm speaking for all of wizarding Britain to say how wonderful it is to have you back, Ginny. How does it feel to be up and about?" 

"Horrendously disorientating," Ginny admitted as she gently squeezed Nell's hand. "I mean, to me, it still feels like the summer of 1997 and I should be near the Forbidden Forest helping Harry fight Riddle and his idiots!" As people around them all laughed, she then smiled. "As many know, I had a big crush on Harry for the longest time. Hearing that he's now with three witches who love him very much…" A sigh. "Well, if I had died that day near Hogwarts in '97, I would want Harry to go on and be happy. He's more than happy with Mandy, Pansy and Dora…not to mention helping them raise his godson Teddy. I want all the best for him…even if it, in a way, hurts." 

"Would you be willing to try to seek a marriage or request to sire contract with Harry, Arthur? Molly?" Betty then asked as she gazed on the elder Weasleys. "As Ginny just indicated, her feelings for him are well-known." 

Molly gaped. "After all the trouble Harry had with poor Mandy and Pansy?! Certainly not!" she snapped. "Harry was never properly raised in wizarding society after his parents were killed. While I did agree with Albus about keeping him safe from Riddle's lunatics by having him raised by his aunt, the fact that he was _**totally**_ cut off from learning how to perform his proper duties as the heir to the House of Potter — and the House of Black seeing that Sirius always marked his godson as his heir in his will — has hurt him badly these last few years. What happened to Mandy and Pansy proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt!" The older Weasleys knew about what had just happened to Harry's lovers — Harry himself would come to Gringotts to deal with the inheritance issues later today — but given what Luna so wonderfully planned when it came to finally defeating the dark families in the Wizengamot, they wouldn't hint that Mandy and Pansy just had their magic restored. That was the surprise for Monday. "Yes, I would have gladly welcomed Harry as an in-law, but Fate had other things in mind. Besides…" She gazed on Nell. "My daughter is soul-bonded to the young sailor beside her, so they'll be deciding on their own how to make us grandparents." 

"Though requesting that Director Potter serve as our _surei'cha_ — the father of our future children — IS a possibility, Lady Herald Braithwaite," Nell stated as Ginny blushed on hearing her wife publicly declare that. 

Gasps escaped many of the people in the crowd as Arthur and Molly shared a delighted hug. "A _**soul-bond**_ …?!" a white-faced Betty Braithwaite gasped as the _Lumos_ spell inside her mind began flashing **PAGE 1 STORY!** again and again. 

A wild whoop made people turn to see a pair of twins dance a jig in front of the doors to their store nearby. As people laughed and cheered at Ginny's good fortune, the cameraman who was with the _Prophet_ reporter moved to take a picture of the new couple. Given Nell's uniform — with her ship's name proudly displayed on the tally of her cap — Betty knew whatever objections many of the pureblood lords like Draco Malfoy now expressed towards those "evil muggle golems pretending to be human" would dry up in an instant. Even better, any attempts by the Marquess of Cumbria and his allies to press for any action in the Wizengamot against the Avalonians would fail. Unlike her more well-known co-worker, Betty Braithwaite ALWAYS did thorough research when it came to preparing a story…and she intended to make as thorough a story of Ginny's soul-bonding to Nell as she could to finally ram it home to Voldemort's robe-kissers that they were totally helpless _this_ time. 

After all, the **Magical Royal Proclamation in Concerns to Relations Between Her Majesty's Magical Subjects and Her Majesty's Avalonian Subjects** — proclaimed on Good Friday this year, when the Queen officially received the Ambassador of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Avalon to the Court of St. James, Madame Alice Holmes — flatly _**forbade**_ the Ministry of Magic or the Wizengamot from classifying Avalonians in the United Kingdom as "magical creatures" under the applicable clauses of The Magical Beings, Beasts and Spirits Act of 1811. Further, the **Magical Royal Proclamation Regarding Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ and Affiliated Units of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in Concerns to the Separation Act, 1692** — proclaimed on May Day — removed the restrictions of the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy towards non-magicals learning about magical societies from members of _Hood_ 's ship's company and all units directly assigned to her such as 41 Commando of the Royal Marines and 51 (Space) Naval Air Wing of the Fleet Air Arm. 

In effect, Nell McAndrew-Weasley was legally DOUBLE protected from any harm from wizards. 

Too bad. 

_The age of "staleblood supremacy" is finally coming to a befitting end_ , the reporter from the _Prophet_ mused to herself as she turned to ask some questions… 

* * *

Islington, 12 Grimmauld Lane, Sunday 11 July, breakfast… 

"Damn…!" 

"What is it, Harry?" 

Harry perked on hearing Pansy ask that, and then he turned the copy of the _Sunday Prophet_ around to show his wives and his mistress. 

_****_

**GINNY WEASLEY HEALED!**  
 **Sister of Man-Who-Won's Best Friend Healed by Avalonian-Briton Healer from H.M. Starship _Hood_ ; Now Shares Soul-Bond With Woman Who Saved Her!**

  
_by Betty Braithwaite_  
 _DIAGON ALLEY, London: Ginny Weasley (29), daughter of Director Arthur Weasley (60) of the Department of Non-Magical Artifact Abuse at the Ministry of Magic and his wife Molly (60) — and one of several victims of the arch-traitor Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as "Lord Voldemort," driven into a magical coma at his wand at the Battle of Hogwarts in 1997 before he was killed by the Man-Who-Won — was seen stepping out of Gringotts' Diagon Alley branch on Saturday morning fully recovered from her wounds and in the company of her parents and a young sailor of the Royal Navy assigned now to Her Majesty's Starship_ Hood _._  
 _Immediately spotted by former Gryffindor housemate Director Hermione Granger (30), Special Adviser of Non-Magical Affairs to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who was visiting her favourite bookstore at the time, it was soon revealed that Ms. Weasley had been restored to perfect health thanks to the virtue of becoming an Avalonian, one of the beautiful race of alien women who fled to Earth earlier this year to escape chattel slavery. In becoming so, the horrid curse that deprived Director Weasley and his wife of their only daughter for thirteen years was broken once and for all…thus delivering another sound blow against the forces of Darkness._  
 _Even more so, when she was restored to life and health, Ms. Weasley found herself soul-bonded _to the Avalonian-Briton healer who literally saved her from a permanent magical coma…in virtually the same manner former auror Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin (37) was restored to full health on Friday evening while aboard_ Hood _at a levée in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen celebrating the first successful mission of Britain's first starship._  
 _Said healer, Royal Navy Seaman Trainee Nell McAndrew (physical age 20) — now officially "Mrs. Nell McAndrew-Weasley" under British wizarding law — was more than happy to reciprocate the soul-bonding with her new wife when Ginny awoke in the starship's cockpit early Saturday morning. "One never expects when the urge to seek out one's_ marei'cha _comes on meeting a potential mate," Mrs. McAndrew-Weasley explained to this reporter, using her native term for a soul-bonding, "…but when Ginny woke up and we gazed at each other, it just clicked in right then and there and we bonded." Here, she snapped her fingers. "Given how much my bond-mate has missed these last thirteen years since Thoughtmaster-prime Riddle sought to overthrow Her Majesty's Government, I'll be spending a lot of time with her when I'm not on_ Hood _or undergoing training to make her feel once more at home with her friends and family."_  
 _When asked about the uniqueness of her soul-bond with an_ alien _of all things, Ms. Weasley laughed it off. "When I heard about the Avalonians and how much they suffered at the hands of the monsters who enslaved them for over a century, I knew Her Majesty did the right thing when she issued a Magical Royal Proclamation welcoming them as Her subjects here in Britain back in April. I got the chance to meet the Earth Angel, the Lady Moroboshi Negako, as she was aboard_ Hood _at the time performing some special work for Her Majesty, so she was more than happy to act as my wife's magical guardian when we registered our marriage with Gringotts."_  
 _"Lady Negako was more than willing to arrange with friends of hers from the Húŋkpapȟa Nation in America to allow Ginny and Nell to be bonded properly using their rites as soon as Nell graduates from basic training at H.M.S._ Raleigh _in a couple of months," Molly Weasley added. "Even better, Nell's captain agreed to allow the ceremony to be held on_ Hood _. We just felt so honoured that they would do that for us!"_  
 _"We have a new sister-in-law now," Ms. Weasley's elder brother Fred Weasley (32), co-owner of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon with his twin brother George, added. "She's no different to us than our elder brother's wife Fleur."_  
 _"Even better, Nell's going to be a healer, keeping her sisters and friends on_ Hood _safe and healthy," George Weasley added. "Of course, we'll be happy to do our part to help the folks on_ Hood _and their friends across Earth keep us all safe from aliens. We can't let the Lady Negako's poor brother do all the work, after all!"_  
 _When an unnamed bystander muttered that the Wizengamot should declare Avalonians "beasts" under the Magical Beings, Beasts and Spirits Act of 1811, Director Granger immediately warned this: "If there are attempts at harming Avalonian-Britons — who are protected by a Magical Royal Proclamation issued by the Queen in April — by malcontents, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The DMLE is already liaising with Avalonian-Britons across the United Kingdom to ensure any attempts at abuse of those poor women are stopped before someone is hurt. Many Avalonian-Britons carry a weapon known as a Lawgiver, powered by mesonium and bauximite…which are two elements magic CANNOT defeat! As it's been known all along by the Ministry of Magic, they have authorization from the Home Office to use lethal force in self-defence._  
 _"As for those who would try to keep pushing their backwards attitudes on other people, it has been explained time and time again since Riddle was done away with that ALL attempts at trying to override a Magical Royal Proclamation is seen as Treason Against The Crown," the Man-Who-Won's best female friend added. "If someone is caught doing that and Magic Itself responds to such a crime, those guilty of such crimes will forever lose their magic. Her Majesty told Minister Shacklebolt on Friday evening while we were on_ Hood _that her patience towards this insane refusal to catch up with the rest of the world is at an end. She will not hesitate to use another Magical Royal Proclamation to forever strip us of our due protections under the Separation Act of 1692 — or Merlin forbid, ask the War Hawks to come in and deal with it! — to put those idiot attitudes Riddle championed into the grave once and for all time."_  
 _It was announced in Wednesday evening's Prophet _that Supreme Mugwump Emeritus Heather Thompkins (94) of Canada — a rear admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy who was the magical world's representative in the team of warriors called the "War Hawks" during Grindelwald's War and Tsukuyomi's War — was appointed as Flag Officer Commanding of the Earth Defence Force, which is the international military formation H.M.S._ Hood _is a part of._  
 _On behalf of the staff of the Daily Prophet _, this reporter can only wish Ms. Weasley and Mrs. McAndrew-Weasley — and all of_ Hood _'s ship's company — all the best.____

____

__

**EDITOR'S NOTES** :  
 _For a review of the Weasley family of Ottery Saint Catchpole, see_ **A Recent History of the Weasley Clan of Ottery Saint Catchpole** _on Page 2._  
 _For more details on Avalonian-Wizarding relations, read_ **The Text of Her Majesty's Magical Royal Proclamation of 2010 in Concerns to Her Avalonian Subjects and Relations with Her Majesty's Magical Subjects** _on Page 3._  
 _For more on_ Hood _, see_ **A History of the Fourth H.M.S. _Hood_ of the Royal Navy** _on Page 4._  
 _For more details on the Earth Angel, the Lady Moroboshi Negako, and her family, read_ **A History of the Moroboshi Clan of Japan, The Siblings Who Defended Earth From Alien Invasion** _on Page 5._  
 _For a review of what Moroboshi Ataru's actions were in concerns to aliens during the latter half of 2009, read_ **A Half-Year of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in A Suburb of Tōkyō** _on Page 5._  


Pansy giggled as she took the paper in hand. "Poor Dracy-poo!" she said in the very nauseating voice she had used back in school when she had sucked up to Draco Malfoy due to her house-mate’s domination of Slytherin until Voldemort was finally destroyed. 

"He's not going to like reading any of this when he gets the paper," Mandy noted. 

"If he actually reads the paper!" Dora noted. 

The others all giggled. "Strange that they didn't say more about Mummy being better," Ted noted as he nibbled on his jelly toast. 

"We're holding off on that for the time being, sport," Harry said as he sipped his tea. "The smart ones like Daphne, Tracey, Blaise and Millie will pick up on it right away. It's a pity that Mike won't be back at Keerford until early tomorrow morning." 

Winky then popped in. "Master Harry, Master Blaise is here." 

Harry turned as a very handsome, dark-skinned man with a mixture of Mediterranean and African ancestry on his face walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Blaise! Tea?" 

"Please," Blaise Zabini said as he walked over to gently kiss Pansy's cheek before he did the same to Mandy and Dora before shaking Ted's hand. He then hummed as his own magical senses picked up on the sheer _power_ in all of Harry's female companions. "So what's this about Dora becoming an Avalonian, Harry?!" the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot — who was a damned sight better at the job than Albus Dumbledore had been, the Man-Who-Won had long believed — wondered as he gave Harry a knowing look. 

"Sit down and we'll explain Luna's nefarious plot against the Death Nibblers, Blaise," Harry bade. 

Blaise gaped, and then he laughed… 

* * *

Level Ten of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (located under Northumberland Avenue east of Trafalgar Square) in the City of Westminster, London, Monday 12 July, morning… 

"Harry!" 

Harry turned and smiled. "Mike! How are you doing?!" 

"Surviving, my friend, surviving! Hey, Pansy!" Michael Parkinson said as he shook the offered hand from his sister's husband, and then he moved to gently embrace her before doing the same to Mandy. On doing that, he blinked before he pulled away to gaze intently at Pansy for a moment, immediately sensing that something was quite off about his beloved sibling. "What happened?" he whispered. 

"That, my friend, you're about to find out," Harry whispered back. 

Michael stared at him, and then he gaped. "You are _**kidding**_ me!" he hissed. 

"It was quite easy in the end," Harry affirmed with a wink. "And right now, I can _properly_ and _finally_ address you as my brother-in-law." 

Hearing that, the Earl of Keerford blinked before he smiled as he firmly grasped the hand of the Marquess of Taunton Deane and Grimmauld. "Well met, brother. Well met! And thank you!" He then gazed on Pansy before staring back at her husband. "I assume…!" 

"She'll vote the Black proxy until we have an heir that's old enough to take up the vote. Or we allow Ted to fall into that role when he comes of age as he is descent from a Black through his mother. As long as I'm serving in the Ministry as head of the DMLE, Mandy votes the Potter proxy," Harry said as he indicated his other wife. 

As heir to the headships of TWO houses of the Wizengamot, Harry had the right to seek TWO separate spouses by ancient custom to ensure the succession in both families as it was traditionally seen as wrong for _**one**_ person to hold _**two**_ such high-ranking seats. It was even more bothersome since Harry was currently also a department head in the Ministry of Magic. In Wizengamot meetings, Harry would sit at the Minister's side along with Percy Weasley at the head of the room; these were the places where, in normal court sessions, judges would preside. Because of laws that forbade Ministry department directors from voting in the Wizengamot, Harry had not been able to cast his families' votes in legislation since he became the head of the DMLE in 2005. That — as Luna Lovegood reflected on Friday evening — had been taken advantage of by the old pureblood crowd led by Draco Malfoy to slow down or stop the heady pace of reforms Kingsley Shacklebolt had been driving for since his elevation to the position of Her Majesty's Minister for Magic in 1997. With the Potter and Black votes now legally active again and under Mandy's and Pansy's control — Harry trusted his wives to vote their consciences whenever sensitive issues might come up — that would dramatically change…much to the detriment of the would-be Death Eaters. 

"The legal arrangements were registered at Gringotts on Saturday. All the clerks at the Ministry should be getting the notices far too late for all the busy-bodies to try to muck it all up," Harry added. 

"Too bad." While the Parkinsons were traditionally a "darker" family in the eyes of society, Michael was swinging away from overtly influencing the government as his father and grandfather had done in years past. While this could potentially provide problems as Draco Malfoy had pretty much taken after his father when it came to bribes — though Kingsley and Percy were FAR above reproach on that matter, so the effect of said bribes was actually at a fraction of what it had been when Cornelius Fudge was Minister and under the thumb of Lucius Malfoy — it demonstrated a much greater trust in government by the leaders of the pureblood gentry. This would translate to a greater trust in government by normal wizards across Britain; all adult wizards had the right to directly vote on the position of Minister in elections normally held every decade. When it came to eventually forming a magical "house of commons" — which was the big reform people like Harry and Kingsley had in mind for the future — that would matter quite a bit with the electorate. "Shall we go inside, Lord Potter?" 

"After you, Lord Parkinson," Harry replied. 

They headed into Courtroom Ten, the largest of the courtrooms in the lowest level of the Ministry; this also served as the normal meeting place for the Wizengamot during the weekly legislative sessions. Once inside, Harry was quick to notice many eyes lock on him and his companions as they made their way to the lower tier of seats over the centre stage of the room, where the senior members of the Wizengamot — the "Seven and Ten," traditionally formed by the seven Noble and Most Ancient Houses (the magical marquessates) and the ten Noble and Ancient Houses (the magical earldoms) of the Wizengamot — sat. Harry escorted Pansy to the long-empty Black seat, leaning in to kiss her on the lips as she sat, and then he did the same to Mandy at the Potter seat before he moved to ascend the dais to take his place beside Percy Weasley. 

"Um, Harry…what's going on here?" the Senior Undersecretary rhetorically asked. 

Harry secretly winked at him. To the shock of many who knew him personally, Percy had developed quite the comic streak over the last decade. In the wake of the Battle of Hogwarts — where Fred had nearly been killed by Augustus Rookwood before a quick shield charm by Harry had saved his life — the once stiff and formal Head Boy of Hogwarts for the 1993-94 school year had mellowed, renewing ties to his family as he sought to help the Ministry of Magic overcome decades of bribery and inefficiency and make it run as it always should have been operating. It also allowed his own personal life to progress; he was married to a lovely lady, the former Audrey Simpson — an American who had studied at the Salem Witches Institute before coming to Britain to help with post-war reconstruction as a junior administrator from their Department of Magic — and they were now expecting a daughter. "Watch." 

Percy looked…and then gaped — a little too dramatically, Harry mused — as Mandy and Pansy drew out their wands and moved to activate the lamps indicating that they were ready to perform their sacred duties as voting members of the Right Honourable the Lords Magical of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Wizengamot assembled. He wasn't the only one who appeared stunned to see that the two would-be wives of the Man-Who-Won were once more able to do magic. Daphne Greengrass, who had been Pansy's housemate in Slytherin at Hogwarts — and as the Countess of Mutuantonis, possessed the right to sit at the same level as the Parkinsons, the Potters and the Blacks — squealed in delight as she lunged over to swamp Pansy with a sobbing hug. Despite Daphne being let into the secret the previous afternoon, her delight on actually seeing Pansy once more a witch was understandable; she — along with the other "Slytherin Vixens" from their school year, Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode — had been quick to ignore whatever their parents said concerning renouncing their friendships with the "squib" and helped Harry settle the then-devastated Pansy into Grimmauld Place. Seeing Neville Longbottom smile a knowing smile from his chair, Harry then smirked when he gazed on Draco Malfoy…who was now gaping in disbelief at the sight of his once-lover holding the Black proxy vote, which could spell big trouble for him and his allies. _If you pick thistles, expect prickles, Drake!_ the Man-Who-Won mused as he recalled an old eastern European folk saying. 

By then, Kingsley Shacklebolt had arrived. Regal and dignified in his formal robes of state, the former auror appeared stunned silent for a moment on seeing both his chief law enforcement officer's wives seated at where they should have been all along hadn't their fathers been so stupid. Noting this, Harry smirked; Kingsley was as much of a good actor when it came to faking his emotions as Percy. Finally, after a moment, the minister recovered and then moved to take his place. "I trust there's an explanation," he quietly mused — just loud enough for Draco to hear — as he sat down as he gazed knowingly at Harry. 

"It's coming," Harry promised. 

By then, Blaise Zabini — the position of Chief Warlock/Witch of the Wizengamot was always given to the head of a Noble House (a magical barony) as they only had one "seat" point vote in the Wizengamot in lieu of the three votes allowed to each of the magical earldoms like the Parkinsons and the Greengrasses and the four allowed to each of the magical marquessates like the Potters, the Blacks, the Longbottoms and the Malfoys — took his place at the lectern before the dais where the Minister and his senior subordinates sat. "Ladies and gentleman, if you all can take your seats, please!" he stated in a clear voice. As soon as people had shifted to their positions and dimmed their voting lamps, he smiled. "Excellent. I hereby call this, the twenty-eighth meeting of the Wizengamot in this legislative year to order." He smiled at his former housemate. "Recognizing the presence of the Director the Lord Potter's wives, who clearly _**have**_ regained their magics as well as affirmed their bonds of matrimony to him, now in the chairs to be held by the lords of the Most Noble and Ancient Houses of Potter of Taunton Deane and Black of Grimmauld. I would assume, Lady Potter, Lady Black, that you wish to take up your proxy votes?" 

Both women rose. "We do, Lord Chief Warlock," Mandy stated for herself and her co-wife. "Such was registered at the noble International Mercantile Bank of Gringotts on Saturday morning. Our husband does have copies of the forms required to allow our taking our husband's place as active voting members of this Most Noble House for your perusal and that of the Minister's as well whenever you may desire to see them. With your gracious permission, may we proceed with our oaths?" 

"You may do so." 

" ** _OBJECTION!_** " 

Eyes then locked on Draco, who had bolted up to his feet. "Overruled, Lord Malfoy," Kingsley flatly declared. "The Chief Warlock currently has the floor and is conducting the proper business of this House by welcoming the Lady Potter and the Lady Black into this House as their families' voting proxies. That has been set down in _**law**_ for over three hundred years. Do not interrupt again." He then nodded as Draco sank into his chair. "Ladies, my deepest apologies. Please proceed." 

Mandy waved to Pansy. The raven-haired witch raised her wand and said, "I, Pansy Isabella, the Lady Marchioness Black of Grimmauld, do solemnly swear on my magic — and in the name of my beloved husband, Harold James, the Lord Marquess Black of Grimmauld — that I shall conduct the business of Her Majesty's magical subjects within the confines of this Noble House, the Right Honourable the Lords Magical of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in Wizengamot assembled, with impartiality and justice for all those protected by the Separation Act of 1692 and the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1692. So I have sworn before Magic Itself and these witnesses, so mote it be!" 

Mandy did the same thing with her own wand as she swore her oath, "I, Amanda Grace, the Lady Marchioness Potter of Taunton Deane, do solemnly swear on my magic — and in the name of my beloved husband, Harold James, the Lord Marquess Potter of Taunton Deane — that I shall conduct the business of Her Majesty's magical subjects within the confines of this Noble House, the Right Honourable the Lords Magical of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in Wizengamot assembled, with impartiality and justice for all those protected by the Separation Act of 1692 and the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1692. So I have sworn before Magic Itself and these witnesses, so mote it be!" 

Both their bodies glowed with pure magic to "seal the deal." On seeing that, Michael then rose. "So we all have witnessed this day, so mote it be!" 

Others quickly got to their feet, screaming out, " _ **SO MOTE IT BE!**_ " 

Delighted and relieved laughter then filled the room as people took their seats. "Well, in noting that Magic _**did**_ respond to the Lady Amanda's and the Lady Pansy's oaths to this Noble House, I think any questions about they still being squibs can be cast aside," Blaise stated before he gazed knowingly at Harry, a smile crossing his face. "And I think Director Potter and his wives will prefer to keep such knowledge as to how this happened to themselves. Though I pray I'm not too premature in hoping that your coming prides and joy will give all of you many happy days in the years to come." 

Harry tried not to laugh at Blaise's wordplay while knowing grins and snorted laughs echoed from the audience. Like Daphne, Tracey and Millicent, the Baron of Lewisham had been always supportive of his former housemate after Pansy had lost her magic. And as he had shown yesterday, Blaise was no fool; one didn't survive the politics of Slytherin by being an idiot, despite what some people thought of those such as the late Vincent Crabbe — who had perished at the Battle of Hogwarts — and Gregory Goyle, Draco's constant companions throughout his years there. "No, you aren't too premature…but it is still quite too early to judge, Chief Warlock," he stated. 

A roaring laugh echoed through the chamber — no doubt, those who hadn't read the previous morning's _Prophet_ believed that Harry's magic somehow had restored his wives' magic while they were making love to each other — as Blaise nodded. "So be it," he said before turning to his fellow Wizengamot members. "Now that we've got that out of the way, is there any business to bring up today?" He nodded as Mandy made a motion with her wand to light up her voting lamp. "The House recognizes the Lady Amanda Potter of Taunton Deane," he said with a bow of his head. 

"With thanks, Lord Chief Warlock. I shall not be long," Mandy said as she rose, bowing her head in turn. "My fellow lords and ladies of this Noble House, much that my co-wife and I are pleased to be _**finally**_ able to perform our sacred duty within these halls on behalf of our husband and our families, we've taken note of a disturbing trend that has begun to swell within the hearts of many over this last week. We all remember the morning of Monday, the fifth of this month, well, when we had no choice but to accept an ugly fact of reality that those of us who have friends in Japan learned last summer: 

"We are not alone in this Universe." 

She paused to allow shudders and hissed whispers to echo through the halls, such then being silenced by the banging of Blaise's gavel. "But we also should take great joy at the fact that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is at the very forefront of the defence of all of Earth," Mandy continued. "As so represented by Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ , which was commissioned into Her Majesty's most Royal Navy that very morning by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales…and returned from her first deep-space deployment on Friday just last with, thank Merlin, no loss of life among the ship's company. AND with their mission against aliens from the planets Uru and Phentax Two — who plotted to _**conquer**_ this planet of ours and enslave _**all of us**_ , magical and mundane alike! — a complete and unqualified success!" 

The whispers and hissed voices began again, this time even louder as people exchanged heated words with friends and allies. They were once more silenced by Blaise and his gavel. "Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you that the Lady Potter still has the floor," he sternly declared. As begrudging nods came from the others in the room, he turned to smile once more at Mandy. "Lady Potter, my deepest apologies. Do go on." 

"Again, with thanks, Lord Chief Warlock," Mandy stated. "While we wizards and witches have long done our best to live our lives away from the influence of the muggle world, we have accidentally done ourselves a great disservice by constantly _**ignoring**_ what was happening beyond the magical barriers of places such as Diagon and Hogsmeade," she continued. "And while for the most part, it seemed as if our muggle cousins were still lagging behind in certain places, they were quickly gaining in others. Thanks to what happened last summer in Japan, the desires and concerns of our muggle cousins to further press the limits of their technology were enhanced with the grim knowledge that beyond the limits of our own solar system, there _**were**_ other races with the potential to reach out and visit us with great ease. And if they so desired it, _**conquer**_ us!" 

She paused as sucked-in breaths echoed through the room, and then she closed her eyes. "Thus, when the opportunity finally came a little over four months ago when the Lord Moroboshi Ataru of Japan and his noble siblings brought with them back from a two-month journey to other worlds _**fifty starships**_ …AND the technology to support them and create more such ships to properly defend our world from future alien threats, muggle governments worldwide — _**including**_ our counterparts in Parliament just up the Thames — grasped that chance with both hands. _**And they did not let go!**_ " 

Total silence fell as Mandy took a deep breath. "Yet what did we do?! On seeing _Hood_ for the first time last week, we _**panicked**_! Just like we did when the arch-traitor Tom Riddle somehow restored himself to life at the end of the Triwizard Tournament in 1995 and launched the Second Purification War! And some of us plotted ways by which we would destroy _Hood_ and try to subdue if not kill off the Avalonians in their crew, not to mention those of that race that have now become Her Majesty's subjects and are starting new lives for themselves here in Britain. Are we so afraid of our own shadows that we would gladly plot to kill people — who fled a life of SEXUAL SLAVERY! — who came to OUR world seeking refuge?! And in doing so, gladly gave all the muggles of Earth access to ALL their advanced technology to help them better defend themselves in case other races came to attack and destroy them… _ **AND US**_?! Why?! Because we can't stand the idea of muggles possessing the power _Hood_ represents? That we can't stand the thought of muggles evolving non-magical psionic and other paranormal powers that matched the best magic we weld? That they could actually ACCEPT us as EQUALS?!" 

People stared at her. Some were fascinated. Others were totally shocked by her boldness. Others still were shaking their heads in denial. "Well, I for one refuse to see our society be destroyed because there are those — most likely the same type of people who _**refused**_ to raise wands when my husband was fighting Voldemort, if not _**actually fought**_ on that half-blood bastard child's side! — who can't stand the idea that other human beings had elected not to remain in their caves and made something of their lives," Mandy finished, ignoring the angry looks from several in the audience on her referring to Tom Riddle with such derogatory terms…which struck her as completely hypocritical as the truth behind Voldemort had been known for over a decade. "I for one refuse to condone any attempts by any selfish fool who might want to provoke a fight with those who possess no hatred towards us as a people and society. And I'm afraid I've got some bad news for those who would walk down that path: As Director Granger said to the _Daily Prophet_ on Saturday, the cries for action have made their way to _**Buckingham Palace**_! The _**Queen**_ now is fully aware of what's going on here! And she — when my husband, my co-wife and I met her on _Hood_ on Friday — told us this…" 

She ignored the horrified gasps from several places in the audience; while the loyalty to the Crown was ALWAYS acknowledged, to actually go VISIT the Sovereign was seen as something wizards normally did _**not**_ do unless they were summoned by her…which Mandy conveniently forgot to mention. "If ANYONE under the protection of the Separation Act of 1692 — if any WIZARD or WITCH living in Britain, in other words! — tries anything against _Hood_ , members of her crew or any Avalonian who has come to settle in Britain and swears the Oath of Loyalty to become Her Majesty's subject, they will no longer seen as worthy of BEING protected by that Act!" the Marchioness of Taunton Deane warned. "They will be declared TRAITORS to the Crown and MAGIC ITSELF!" Mandy smirked as shrieks echoed from the crowd around her before she finished, "And then spend the rest of their lives as _**squibs**_ , forever forced to fend for themselves!" 

" ** _SHE CAN'T DO THAT!_** " 

Eyes locked on Draco, who was now totally white-faced as he stared in denial at Mandy. Before Blaise could shout him down, Kingsley's deep voice echoed throughout the room, "She can, Lord Malfoy! She's the _**Queen**_! _**OUR Queen!**_ Remember?!" 

The Marquess of Cumbria gulped before he sank into his chair, shaking his head in disbelief. Watching this, Harry could only shake his head; clearly, the stupid blond inbred idiot obviously hadn't got the underlying message the articles in the _Prophet_ had put out. "So instead of trying to reject them because of what _differences_ they have with us, let's look for the _similarities_ between us and our new countrywomen from the stars. And _**use**_ those similarities to forge a bond of friendship that will benefit both sides and last for ages to come!" Mandy finished. "For if they begin to intermarry with people in Britain, the chances are very good that sometime in the future, we may be seeing _**Avalonian**_ wizards and witches go to school at Hogwarts!" As jaws around her dropped in shocked surprise, she shook her head. "They could be the salvation for the future we've long sought for our society these last few decades! The salvation that the late Headmaster Dumbledore always passionately believed lay in the normal-borns that join our society every year when they're invited to learn about magic at Hogwarts! No matter how much some of us try to deny it, the charter that was granted to Hogwarts by King William and Queen Mary over three centuries ago states that _**all**_ born in the British Isles and blessed with magic have the _**undeniable**_ right to learn of their gifts at that great old castle in Scotland! Do we _**deny**_ the rights that charter guarantees to future children who are not just blessed with magic…but with _telepathy_ , _empathy_ and an _eight hundred year_ lifespan potential?! I say it would be stupid beyond belief to alienate them!" A nod to Blaise. "I surrender the floor, Lord Chief Warlock." 

She sat as many of the people in the room — including a large crowd in the visitor's gallery, all of the Weasleys and their new in-law amongst them — applauded. Watching the known "dark" members of the Wizengamot, Harry was quick to see them shaking their heads in denial over realizing that their hopes of regaining control over their society was slipping even further and further away from their fingers. After the noise finally died down, Blaise perked on hearing someone clear his throat. "Do you wish to make a statement, Minister?" 

"I would, Chief Warlock," Kingsley said. "Much that I too sometimes find the advances in muggle technology quite perplexing — and truly find what I saw of Avalonian technology when I was aboard _Hood_ on Friday evening as being almost magical in its own way — we can't forget that muggles have as much right _**to live their own lives as they choose to do so**_ as _**we**_ do. That was the basic argument that made the Separation Act — and the Statue of Secrecy — reality in the first place. That too many seem to have _**forgotten**_ that is something that is quite disgraceful in my eyes. And I will not risk the Queen's wrath if this attitude ends up hurting people who — as the Lady Potter just so indicated — wish us no ill will. To that end, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will continue to maintain open contact with Avalonian-Britons throughout the United Kingdom — especially those who have joined Her Majesty's Armed Forces, both regular and part-time…as well as those who no doubt are moving to become members of civilian policing agencies across the country — to make sure that we guard against such miscreants who would disrupt lives for no logical reason. And yes, while this _**does**_ potentially risk exposing our society to too many outsiders, I believe the potential benefits far outweigh the potential pitfalls. We have sat too long on our laurels and done _**nothing**_ for ourselves. _**Voldemort**_ resulted from that! We were lucky the last time; Prophecy came to help us. We may not be so lucky the next time!" 

While there were still looks of denial in the faces of some — like Draco Malfoy — others were quick to nod to what the Minister for Magic just said. After Kingsley then took his seat, Blaise turned to the members of the Wizengamot. "Is there any further business that needs to be looked at today?" He then smiled politely on seeing Daphne light up her lamp. "The House recognizes the Lady Daphne Greengrass of Mutuantonis." 

"With thanks, Lord Chief Warlock. I shall not be long," Daphne said after standing. "I would like to reintroduce the proposed bill concerning the striking of The Defunct Lords Act of 1957 from the law books, such having been introduced in the first session of the current legislative year." As some people gasped — with the removal of _that_ law, those normal-borns who were descent from former lords of the Wizengamot who could have claimed their family seats under traditional rules would be able to sit at last amongst their fellow magical lords…such as Hermione Granger, who was descent from the Noble House of Carter of Ifield — at the sudden introduction of such a hot piece of legislation, Daphne then smiled. "While we have two new members who have joined us today, I can say that both the Lady Amanda Potter and the Lady Pansy Black are fully aware of the text of this bill, so I propose also that we waive off a re-reading of the legislation." 

Neville Longbottom then tapped his voting lamp, moving seconds before Draco could. "The House recognizes the Lord Neville Longbottom of Holdenhurst," Blaise said. 

As Draco tried not to hiss in anger at being beaten by the man who had helped destroy Voldemort's last horcrux at the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville rose. "Lord Chief Warlock, as the Lady Daphne has indicated that the Lady Amanda and the Lady Pansy are aware of the contents of the proposed bill, I would like to second her proposal to waive off the re-reading of the legislation…and move immediately to vote on the legislation." 

Since the voting lamps would always go dim when the Chief Warlock recognized one of the Wizengamot's members, Blaise then glanced to his right as the lamp of the person next to Daphne's was lit, "The House recognizes the Lord Michael Parkinson of Keerford." 

Michael stood. "Lord Chief Warlock, I would like to third the proposal by the Lady Daphne to waive the reading of the proposed legislation…and also second the Lord Neville's proposal to move immediately to vote on the legislation." 

Blaise tried not to smirk too much; thanks to Pansy's brother, he could move this debate on to its proper and long-overdue conclusion. "As there is a proposal to waive re-reading of the proposed legislation to strike off The Defunct Lords Act of 1957 from the Rolls of Magical Law — one that has been seconded and supported by two of the Seven and Ten — a vote will be held now. 

"All in favour…?" 

* * *

The Leaky Cauldron, lunchtime… 

"So, Lady Granger…how does it feel to be part of the Wizengamot finally?" 

"Well, I'll have to see how becoming a voting member would affect my other duties, Molly. Even though I'm not officially a director of any Ministry department, I am pretty high up in the DMLE hierarchy," Hermione stated after everyone drank from their cups of tea and coffee after toasting the first major blow to have been struck against the legacy of Voldemort in five years. "Atop that, all the other would-be lords and ladies who would have been denied their place in the Wizengamot because of that act will have to be asked if they want to join up as well. I know several from my class at Hogwarts who'd qualify." 

"Who?!" Ginny asked from beside Nell; the would-be medical assistant was in a beautiful kimono decorated with mythical Western animals and flowers. She was also wearing her green meson earring with the symbol of a Royal Navy medical assistant on her left lobe. 

"Dean Thomas, Kevin Entwhistle and Lisa Turpin," Hermione stated before she gazed in amusement at Mandy. "You as well, Mandy; your mother's family…" 

"The Noble House of Lynch of Knapton. I know," Mandy stated. "That was the reason my father drove so hard to get me married to Harry. When Mum and my brother died, I was seen as the magical heir of the house…but couldn't claim the seat in the Wizengamot thanks to Malfoy's grandfather. Once I was married to Harry BEFORE he came of age…!" 

The others in the room nodded. "Pity that I claimed both the Potter and Black seats — and gained my emancipation — just after Sirius died," Harry noted. "That was the first thing Tsukiko-sensei insisted on my doing before she started training me in earnest." 

Some of the older people there shuddered on hearing THAT name. "A prank worthy of a Marauder, mate!" George mused as people snickered. "Remember the look on Malfoy's face when the news came that Harry became Lord Black?" 

"Oh, did he ever carry on and on when that news got out," Daphne noted. 

"I still can't understand why Albus _hated_ that," Molly noted. 

Ron sighed. "Mum, you've got to stop looking at the man like he was bloody Merlin reborn!" he stated. "He made mistakes! A ton of them! Not letting Harry know a damned thing about what he was supposed to do once Hagrid took him to Gringotts the first time was just the start of it!" A shake of the head. 

"Pity none of us ever thought of that sort of thing," Fred noted. "We always assumed Harry knew these things. By the time we all finally clued into it…" 

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it, guys. Let it be." 

"So what will you do with your family seat, Mandy?" Lì Sǔ — who had been Mandy's only friend from Ravenclaw to remain in contact with her when she had lost her magic in 1998 — asked. 

"Well, I'll need a proxy. Hey, Dora! Interested?" 

Eyes locked on Dora Lupin, who was currently cuddling her son in her arms, a content look on her face. "Ask her when she's not so distracted," Pansy noted. 

The others all grinned on seeing that as all the women in the room felt their eyes mist in sympathy. "So what will you do, Ginny?" Tracey Davis then asked. 

Ginny sighed. "Well, I don't know. I missed out on taking my NEWTs and I don't know if I want to pursue a career in quidditch." She then hummed. "Still…" 

"What?" Arthur asked. 

"There is the military." 

Silence. 

" ** _WHAT?!_** " Molly shrieked out. " ** _NO! NEVER! YOU WILL_ NOT _JOIN THE NAVY! YES, YOU'RE MARRIED TO A NAVY WOMAN, BUT YOU WILL STAY AT HOME WHERE I CAN…UURK!_** " 

People gaped on seeing the elder Weasley's eyes roll into her head before she slumped unconscious in her chair. "Sorry about that," Nell said as she pulled her hand back. 

Everyone gaped, and then the twins grinned. "Fred?" George began. 

"Yeah, George?" 

"Did I see our sister-in-law use a _Vulcan nerve pinch_ on our own mother?" 

"Indeed you did see that, dear brother, because I saw it as well!" 

Both men gazed at each other…and then they dropped to their knees and began bowing deeply to the would-be medic. " ** _WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY!_** " they chanted every time they bowed. 

Laughter filled the main lounge as Arthur — who could understand why his sons didn't care too much for their mother's domineering attitudes at times — moved to help adjust the stunned Molly in her chair as Tom Dodderidge, the owner of the Cauldron, came up to refill people's cups before heading back to the bar. "Hey, Nell, tell me something," Ginny mused. 

"What's that, Ginny-vayae?" Nell asked. 

Ginny's cheeks turned a deep red on hearing her wife call her "My Darling Ginny" in Sagussan. "Are there married quarters on _Hood_?" she wondered. 

"Unfortunately, no," Nell admitted. "Which is one of the things Tsukihana-oniisama and Ayami-onēsama forgot to put into those ships when they built them." 

People chuckled. "Well, if you want, girls, you can use the spare flat above the shop," Fred said as the twins got back to their feet and sat down. 

"Are you sure, Oniisan-tachi?" Nell asked. 

The twins blushed — there was a magical translation field in the Leaky Cauldron due to it being a popular place for travellers from all over Earth — on hearing their sister-in-law call them "elder brothers" in Japanese. "We'll do it! But no using Nell for testing products!" Ginny declared. "I don't want to explain to the people at _Raleigh_ why my wife has blue hair or gold skin or Merlin only knows what else!" 

"No problem, Gin-gin!" Fred said. 

"Given how powerful Dora is now…" George added. 

"…and guessing you're the same way…" 

"…we certainly do not…" 

"…want to face a Bat-Bogey Hex!" both men finished. 

People laughed on hearing the infamous twin-speak from Fred and George, and then they whooped as Ginny and Nell shared a kiss. At that moment, the would-be medic then tensed as five people walked through the main doors from Charing Cross Road. "Leilani! Zoe! Keeley! Madison! Hayley! What are you guys doing here?!" she asked as five of her sisters and shipmates from _Hood_ — all dressed in beautiful casual wear with their ship's crest on their blouses and their earrings hanging from their left lower lobes — came up to them, clearly not bothered by the muggle repellant fields that ensured that no casual passer-by could walk into the Leaky Cauldron. 

"Oh, don't mind us, Nell," Leilani Dowding said as she and her friends gazed fondly on Ron…and then they gazed on the twins and Blaise Zabini with very frank looks. "After all, you found a nice bond-mate amongst the magicals here in Britain." 

"We wanted to see what potential child-mates may be available," Madison Welch said as she grasped the hand of her bond-mate Keeley Hazell as her eyes fell on a wide-eyed Blaise before she turned to wink at a madly blushing Ron. "After all, Master Ronald here gave us _**such**_ a good impression on Friday night." 

"Not to mention seeking out bond-mates ourselves, sisters," Zoe McConnell mused as she gazed frankly at a wide-eyed Millicent Bulstrode…who had discovered her sexual orientation long ago while at Hogwarts and — upon learning of them back in March — privately hoped a pretty Avalonian-Briton would come along and select her as her lover. 

"Oh, indeed we must," Hayley Coppin noted as she gazed on Daphne Greengrass. 

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" Harry wondered. 

"We've got the week off before we head off to _Raleigh_ , Director Potter," Leilani said. "Subject to special recall in case some idiot tries something stupid…" 

"Which would probably not happen," Madison mused. 

"Thank Lyna for that!" Zoe breathed out. 

People gazed at them, and then laughter filled the room… 

_****_

_**The End…For Now!** _

* * *

**WRITER'S POSTSCRIPT**

_No real inspiration for this one other than a plot bunny that demanded to be let free of the cage and run around the briar patch._

* * *

****

**WRITER'S NOTES**

While I did always seem to have this idea of having the world of _Phoenix From the Ashes_ interact with the _Harry Potter_ universe — as you'll notice what I did to characters from _The Romance of the Three Kingdoms_ and the _Táin Bó Cúailnge_ such as Chìtùmǎ and the Donn Cúailnge, who appear here as immortal phoenixes of the same type as Albus Dumbledore's delightful companion Fawkes — I did not wish to drag in the whole war with Voldemort into the story along the way. For characters like Harry Potter, their lives went on pretty much as depicted in the novels (Harry would start Hogwarts in the late summer of 1991 and graduate in the late spring of 1998)…though I did — in factoring in the world of _Mahō Sensei Negima_ and my own _Icemaidens_ stories to this universe — adjust the whole series of events leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts (which occurred in the mid-summer of 1997 as noted in this story). Atop that, many more people who were recorded to have died in that battle as noted in _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ such as Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey and Nymphadora Tonks — and yes, to be fair, people on the other side of that battle such as Bellatrix Lestrange — survived the battle in the universe of this story. 

Some elements of this story are inspired by some of my favourite _HP_ fanfic stories, such as _The Mandatory Marriage Contract Fic_ from **Itsme66** , _Old Soldiers Never Die_ by **Rorschach's Blot** , _Harry Potter and the Harem of Honeys_ by **Szordara** (all listed as favourites of mine at this site), _White Knight, Grey Queen_ by **Jeconais** (which can be found at Jeconais' own fan fiction archive, which can be linked through his author's link at this website; please note, you may have to register at that website to access the story) and the really funny short story _Pureblood Traditions_ by **Crys** (which is found at the same website Jeconais' stories are located at). Also note that the governmental structures revealed here are the same as what I use in my own _Harry Potter_ fan fiction stories…minus the Magical Sheriff concept, which didn't need to be brought in here given this story is set in a "post-war" situation for Harry Potter and company. Certain family and given names used here are my own creation, by the way. 

And now, the specific notes… 

1) Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ (pendant number **51** , fourth ship of the name) is the starship that acts as the home vessel to the British contingent of the **United Nations Earth Defence Force** ( **UNEDF** ) that was formed in Part 20 of _PFtA_. Commanded by Captain **Nathan Kerr** (introduced in Part 24 of _PFtA_ ), the ship is crewed partially by Terran volunteers from the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines…and partially by **Avalonians** (a race of bioroids with Vulcan-like psionic powers that were first introduced in _The Senior Year_ story "What Price For Love?"). _Hood_ is a ship capable of faster-than-light travel and was built with technology that is well over five thousand years ahead of all the other races in the local cluster (as initially introduced in _The Senior Year_ ). She can fly at a maximum FTL speed of 3,200,000 times the speed of light (Warp 20 in the warp speed scale used in this series, which is a fifth power factor measurement). She possesses fifty-four 520 millimetre mixed-ammunition main cannons in eighteen three-gun turrets, eighteen banks of sixteen-cell anti-ship/anti-surface missile launchers that could bear annihilation (anti-matter) warheads if required, as well as multiple gun and missile anti-aircraft weapons for small-ship defence. She possesses the same type of energy deflector shields the various starships _Enterprise_ from _Star Trek_ possess. Like the battlestar _Galactica_ from both the original 1970s series and the recent re-imaged series, _Hood_ carries two hundred star fighters (called **Starfire SF1** in Britain), four large executive shuttles (the **Star Flare SVC1** ) and twenty smaller shuttles (the **Space Dhow SVC2** ); because of this, her proper American-style hull classification symbol code is **SBBV** ("Aircraft Carrying Space Battleship"). At full manning, her crew would be 2,500 officers and rates; the ship is heavily automated to allow a skeleton crew to man her if there are not enough personnel to crew her. She would also have an aerospace contingent of 2,500 officers and rates from the Fleet Air Arm's **51 (Space) Naval Air Wing** ( **51 [S]NAW** ) and an infantry battalion battle group of 1,500 officers and men from the Royal Marines' **41 Commando** ( **41 Cdo RM** ), which administratively is a fighting unit of **3 Commando Brigade**. 

In the British Commonwealth naval tradition, _Hood_ inherited the ship's crest and all the battle honours of her namesakes…including the famous battlecruiser sunk by the German battleship _Bismarck_ in 1941. This is in marked contrast to American naval tradition, where battle stars and campaign credits are not carried to newer ships of the same name. For example, the nuclear aircraft carrier U.S.S. _Enterprise_ ( **CVN-65** ) or her future namesake (U.S.S. _Enterprise_ [ **CVN-80** ]) would not inherit the battle stars and other awards of their namesake (U.S.S. _Enterprise_ [ **CV-6** ]) from World War Two. _Hood_ only possesses one battle honour, won by her namesake from World War Two: **_Bismarck_ , 1941**. Such is always displayed on a **battle honours board** — usually measuring 3 metres by 1.8 metres (10 feet by 6 feet) for a capital ship — posted normally on a bulkhead on the main bridge. 

_Hood_ 's motto is _Ventis Secundis_ (Latin for "With Favourable Winds"). Her ship's official colours are medium blue and gold…though on the ship's hull — as with almost all Royal Navy ships — the name is written in red letters as close to the stern as possible. Her ship's crest shows a Cornish chough (a raven) holding an anchor in one claw as she faces to the viewer's left, all over the year date 1859 (the launch date of the first H.M.S. _Hood_ ) in gold. All of the _Hood_ s that have served in the Royal Navy are named in tribute to a family from Cornwall (where the chough can be found; it is used on the family coat of arms) that have served quite honourably in the British armed forces, including Admiral **Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood** (1724-1816)…who was a mentor to Britain's most famous naval hero, Vice Admiral **Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson** (1758-1805). 

2) The incident concerning Harry's cousin **Margaret "Maggie" Dursley** was covered in _Long Way Home_. That was where Maggie's current guardians, **Lucy O'Neill** and **Shelley Carter** were introduced. At that time, Shelley worked as a special clerk registering Avalonian-Britons for the Home Office and Lucy was — atop serving the housewife role in their home on 5 Privet Drive — planning to become a soldier in the British Army. 

3) For those unfamiliar with my fanfics, the character of **Major Dean Raeburn** (now Major General) often is mentioned from time to time. The concept of **Jewel Warriors** was introduced in my story _Wanderers_. Before having Dean guest-star in _PFtA_ , she appeared in _The Thunderbolt's Tears_. 

4) The **Niitsítapi** are more commonly called the "Blackfoot" amongst white North Americans; they are native Canadians resident in what today is Alberta and northeast British Columbia. The **Húŋkpapȟa** are a clan of the Lakota Sioux from the north-central plains of the American states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

5) The insignia for the **Order of Merlin** medal awarded to worthy wizards and witches in Britain has never been properly described in the _Harry Potter_ novels. In my _Icemaidens_ stories, I rank each of the Order of Merlin's three levels as being equivalent (though each rank of the Order of Merlin is ALWAYS subordinate to the equivalent normal medal) to the three highest levels of bravery decorations in the United Kingdom. Making the Order medallion look like the Order of the Bath medallion seemed logical. The post-nominal letters for the Order of Merlin are **MO1** (First Class), **MO2** (Second Class) and **MO3** (Third Class). 

6) **Michael Parkinson** is a character I introduced in my _Icemaidens_ stories. For your information, he is a year ahead of Pansy and is a Ravenclaw. 

7) Translations: **Allons-y** — Let's go; **Arms of Dominion** — The commonly accepted version of the Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom as displayed in England; **SVC2** — Literally "Space VTOL Transport Aircraft, No. 2" (it should be noted that the British armed forces don't use the American-style model codes for their aircraft); **Tōshi** — Literally "Fighting Soldier," this is the name given to "Resurrected Warriors" (as magicals would term them) whose past-selves come from the Three Kingdoms age of China's history (as depicted in _Ikkitōsen_ ); **Shirei'cha** — The name for the empathic bond between an Avalonian mother ( _shi_ ) and her child ( _rei_ ), which forms automatically at birth; **Marei'cha** — Literally "the one with whom you raise a child" and normally translated as "bond-mate," this is the Avalonian version of a marriage bond; **-tachi** — The Japanese language convention that serves as the equivalent to the English plural "s" ending to a noun. 

8) The **4th/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment** was the **Territorial Army** (British reserve army) battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment in the last decades of that regiment's existence as a fighting unit of the British Army. The battalion was first formed as the "Sussex Rifle Volunteers" in 1860, then acquired its final designation in 1943. Battalion headquarters was set at Worthing. In 1967 — along with the rest of the Royal Sussex — the battalion was amalgamated with other units into the **Queen's Regiment** ; the 4th/5th was reduced to company size and made C Company of the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion. The Queen's Regiment would then be amalgamated with other units into the **The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)** — this is the same regiment Lucy O'Neill joined — in 1992. In the universe of this story, when the Avalonians migrated to Earth, they proposed reactivating all the regiments that had been active in the British Army at the end of World War Two as Territorial Army units, staring with one battalion and eventually growing if required. Hence, the new **1st Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment** (short form **1 R SUSSEX R** ) would be a reserve battalion still affiliated with The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment…but could also mobilise new battalions under its own regimental name if required. 

As an aside, Hermione's great-grandfather **WO1 Nathaniel Carter** , is inspired by his counterpart from _Old Soldiers Never Die_ , Sergeant-Major Smythe. I just expanded on the concept and — since it is commonly accepted fanon that Hermione comes from Crawley in West Sussex — gave my version of RSM Smythe his home regiment. WO1 Carter is also mentioned in my _Icemaidens_ stories. 

9) All of _Hood_ 's Avalonian-Briton crew are named and modelled after various Page 3 girls from newspapers like the _Sun_ and the _Daily Star_. The two whose namesakes appear most prominently here are **Nell McAndrew** (born 1973), who served as the model for Laura Croft for the _Tomb Raider_ video game from 1998 and is also a marathon runner who has participated in the London Marathon since 2005…and **Leilani Dowding** (born 1980), who began modelling in 1999. Other Page 3 girls who have namesakes on _Hood_ who were introduced here include **Zoe McConnell** (born 1981), who first began topless modelling in 1999, but later gravitated to professional photography; **Madison Welch** (born 1990), who would get the chance to guest-star on the popular automotive review show _Top Gear_ ; **Keeley Hazell** (born 1986), who began modelling at age 17 and also gravitated to both acting and environmental activism; and **Hayley-Marie Coppin** (born 1983), who began modelling in 2003 and later gravitated to soft-core pornography. 

Nell's namesake on _Hood_ plans to be a **Medical Assistant** (the equal of the United States Navy rating of a Hospital Corpsman) while Leilani's namesake plans to be a **Communications Information Systems Specialist** (which is the equal of the United States Navy rating of Operations Specialist). Zoe's namesake, as noted above, intends to become a **Steward - Catering Services Logistician** (the equal of a United States Navy Culinary Specialist who works in the wardroom). Madison's spirit-sister plans to become a **Writer - Logistician** (equal to a USN Yeoman). Keeley's namesake will become an **Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineering)** (equal to an USN Gunner's Mate). And Hayley's spirit-sister will serve as an **Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering)** (equal to the rating of Machinist's Mate across the Atlantic). 

In the reality of this story, the originals were quite tickled pink that they got "spirit-sisters" amongst the Avalonian-Britons now serving on _Hood_. 

10) Trainee seamen in the Royal Navy do not wear the standard black epaulette slip-ons one would start to see when one is rated an **Able Seaman**. When part of a training establishment like H.M.S. _Raleigh_ (the basic training unit of the Royal Navy, located in Torpoint in County Cornwall), special coloured epaulettes are worn from the first day of training to the last, when the new trainees move on to trades training. For the Avalonian-Britons on _Hood_ , they were given slip-ons in the background colour of their ship's badge, the ship's name put on a badge similar to what their counterparts on H.M.C.S. _Haida_ wear at the base of the slip-on. 

11) That **Terry Boot** and his father **Ian Boot** (the first name is my creation) — it was the elder who briefed Mary Caldwell — are Unspeakables is an invention of mine that I also use in the _Icemaidens_ stories. 

12) The **Separation Act, 1692** is my name for the local legislation that had to be passed to fully accept all the elements of the **International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy** and thus allow wizards and witches of Britain to break away fully from the control of the normal Parliament to eventually form their own government, as personified by the Ministry of Magic (or as I would see it properly addressed, **Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic** ). However, in the universe of my _Icemaidens_ series (and here as well), a **Magical Royal Proclamation** stands above even the Separation Act (which forms the cornerstone of the Magical Constitution of the United Kingdom, along with other certain post-1692 Acts of the Wizengamot). Released at the command of the serving Sovereign, this — following the legal theories of how a Westminster-style parliamentary government normally runs with a King or Queen at the highest level — would legally and magically bind all wizards and witches into acknowledging such acts…though such does not take away a wizard's or witch's free will to do whatever s/he might desire as key elements of the Separation Act do guarantee full freedom to use magic to one's benefit within reason and without bringing harm to another. 

13) For those who haven't read my stories in the past, **Moroboshi Negako** — note that all Oriental names in this story are written in "family name-first" order — was once a psionic database of ninjutsu battle knowledge and memories that became a sentient being in 1808. I introduced her in _The Senior Year_. Her presence in the mind of **Moroboshi Ataru** was — as was explained in _TSY_ — the primary reason he always chased skirts and acted like an idiot; this was meant to allow Negako the chance to gain enough ki energy to create a body for herself…with Ataru not surviving the experience. Over the years since she appeared in the story "Spirit-War Tomobiki," I've evolved Negako into a being similar to Data from _Star Trek - The Next Generation_ ; calling her "Earth's first true artificial intelligence" is a comment I often use to describe her. 

In the universe of this story, she became an Avalonian six months before _PFtA_ began, then became a sort of big sister figure to Ataru and his other adopted sisters, **Moroboshi Tariko** (Ataru's true twin sister, whom I model from the "civilized" Ataru that appeared in the _Yatsura_ manga story "Just The Two of Us" [manga episode #18]) and **Moroboshi Hiromi** (a tōshi of the _Ikkitōsen_ type, whose battle name would be **Ryūkō Kyōrei** and is the reincarnation of the second-to-last emperor of China's Latter Hàn Dynasty, **Liú Hóng, the Xiàolíng Emperor of Hàn** [lived 156-189, ruled 168-189]). 

Negako serves as the Grandmaster of **Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū** (literally "School of the Way of the Supreme Life"), which is the Moroboshi Clan's in-house form of ninjutsu. Negako is seen by many tōshi as the "Black Death of the Martial Arts;" in the years before she became sentient, she had been used to put down tōshi to where seen as a disruption to Tokugawa-era Japanese society. Mystics and magicals on Earth refer to her as the "Earth Angel" or the "Daughter of Mother Earth" given that her powers are based on ki manipulation of the living energy of the earth itself and that the initial psionic seed that saw her created a thousand years ago was taken from the earth. Because she is seen as grandmaster of her family Art, Negako is always addressed by Avalonians with the term " **Thoughtmistress-prime** " (though never to her face, of course); males ranked so highly are known as " **Thoughtmaster-prime**." Negako personally loathes the use of titles…though she does accept family titles such as "Onē-san" from Ataru and Tariko and "Onē-sama" from Hiromi. Most Japanese people who know of Negako always address her with either the basic honorifics "-san" or "-sama"…and "Lady Negako" in English (or the cognates to that phrase in other languages). 

As shown here, Negako speaks in a very crisp and formal type of Japanese. Given her Taoist-descent beliefs, she will address all she meets — save those she considers true friends, which could only be counted on one hand — by proper given name; this is why she calls Percy Weasley "Percival" and Molly Weasley "Mary" in this story. As stated above, she flatly refuses to use titles of rank when addressing people she meets…save for one person: The Emperor of Japan, whom she calls "Your Majesty." She also cares not for masking things that others would consider improper to speak of in public; Negako is often seen as blunt to the point of rudeness. She is also very much one of the deadliest people alive on Earth today, so her "eccentricities" are always tolerated. 

14) A note on Harry's special teachers in his sixth year at Hogwarts: 

**Nekane Springfield** is the cousin and unofficial big sister of **Negi Springfield** in _Mahō Sensei Negima_. As I've done with the _Harry Potter_ characters, I set the _Negima_ timeline according to what Akamatsu-sensei indicated were the birth years of the members of Negi's class at Mahora. By the time Nekane was asked by the **International Conference of Magical Communities** (renamed from the original **International Confederation of Wizards** after World War Two as noted above) to train Harry, she would have graduated from the **Meridiana Magical Academy** in Wales and become a teacher there. She was responsible for teaching Harry wandless magic. As an aside, given the strong relations the magicals in _Negima_ have with **Nerio** (the _Mundus Magicus_ ), people such as Nekane and Negi are NOT under the rule of the British Ministry of Magic…and thus, by treaty, are forbidden from directly interfering with wand-wizards such as Harry Potter. Given the potential threat of Voldemort at this time and how his actions would affect magicals of all types, the ICMC declared an emergency exception and gave Nekane the clearance to teach Harry what he needed to know. These days, Nekane is still a magical teacher at Meridiana. 

**Yomigawa Tsukiko** , also known by the style name **Tsukuyomi-no-Tsukushi** (shortened always to "Lady Tsukuyomi" in English), is my own creation; she is first mentioned in _The Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone_. A traditional Eastern sorceress of the same vein as Amagasaki Chigusa from _Negima_ , Tsukiko launched a devastating magical war in the late 1930s — parallel to the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific side of World War Two (also known as the "Greater East Asia War") — to overthrow the domination of the International Confederation of Wizards on traditional Oriental magic. In the _Icemaidens_ universe, she was killed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing of 9 August 1945…though it is believed she ultimately survived and is planning to return to power. In the universe of this story as noted above, the American Department of Magic — who had long advocated removing certain restrictions on traditional non-wand magic enforced by the ICW — realized what Tsukiko was ultimately after and managed to get her clear of Nagasaki before _Bockscar_ came on its fateful mission. Because of her efforts to promote traditional forms of magic, Tsukiko was exonerated by the new ICMC after the war and officially magically pardoned by the Shōwa Emperor. These days, she is something of a recluse who lives in the mountains of Kyūshū near Nagasaki…but was more than happy to come teach a bright student like Harry Potter when called on by the ICMC. 

As an aside, Tsukiko's style name is written in the classical style as "月読筑紫," literally meaning "one who reads the moon from Tsukushi." **Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto** is the Shintō god of the moon. The word **Tsukushi** — literally meaning "amethyst zither" — is an old name for the island of **Kyūshū** (literally "Nine Provinces"), the southwest of the Home Islands of Japan where cities like Fukuoka and Nagasaki are found. Note that the "no" part of the style name was never written out in ancient times; only when hiragana was developed in the Ninth Century C.E. that the character "の" came to be used. In modern Japanese, Tsukiko's style name is written "月読の筑紫." 

And no, this person is NOT the crazy Shinmei-ryū swordswoman that first appeared alongside Chigusa in _Negima_ ; in the reality of this story, the swordswoman was named in honour of Tsukiko. 

15) H.M.S. _President_ (sixth ship of the name) is the "stone frigate" (the popular nickname for a shore establishment) that serves as the primary unit for the Royal Navy Reserve in the city of London. First commissioned in 1903, _President_ is currently located in the borough of Tower Hamlets on the north shore of the Thames east of Tower Bridge. It has a detached tender, the Medway Division, located in Chatham in Kent. Units such as _President_ provide personnel augmentation to the regular Navy as well as provide specialist personnel such as harbour clearance divers, chaplains, medical support and headquarters staff support. 

16) **Ki Tsukihana** (battle name **Kōgetsuei** ) and **Hakaru Ayami** (battle name **Jun'iku Bunjaku** ) are two of my own _Ikkitōsen_ tōshi-based characters that appear in _PFtA_. Both Tsukihana and Ayami were two of five hundred people kidnapped by the Ipraedies (a race from _TSY_ ) in preparation of their conquering Earth; this was the reason that the Urusians (Lum's people) launched the Tag Race in the first place. Escaping from Ipraedies custody over a year before the time of this story, both people made their way to the Den'sha system, where they discovered a giant space factory left behind by the Sagussans (the race that created the Avalonians). Using it, they built _Hood_ and forty-nine other starships — known properly as "Type One space battleship-carriers" — to defend Earth against alien invasion. The ships were completed sometime after Ataru rid himself of his "wife" (as seen in a background scene in _PFtA_ Part 8), then brought to Earth. These vessels are now being commissioned into the armed forces of their home nations. Tsukihana and Ayami — as their creators — now serve as Special Technical Advisers to the Earth Defence Force…even if the former is only _thirteen_ years of age and the latter is _fifteen_! Legally, both of them are Negako's wards. 

17) Rear Admiral **Heather Thompkins** — also known as **Spitfire** — is one of my characters; I created the first version of her back in the early 1980s, when I also created the first version of Major Raeburn. Originally meant as a matter-transformer like Firestorm from DC Comics, I evolved her eventually into an arch-mage of considerable power. She was a member of Major Raeburn's team of fighting metahumans during World War Two, the **War Hawks** (officially the **First Canadian Specialized Warfare Unit** [ **1 CSWU** ]). In the universe of this story, Heather and her friends helped Albus Dumbledore and other British magicals defeat Gellert Grindelwald in the **Battle of Nurmengard** near the end of the European side of World War Two in 1945. Because of her high magical power, Heather was unanimously voted in as a supreme mugwump in the International Conference of Magical Communities after her retirement from the Royal Canadian Navy in 1954. She was recalled to duty during the events of _PFtA_ and asked to become **Flag Officer Commanding, United Nations Earth Defence Force** ( **FOC UNEDF** ), the military commander of the formation of starships _Hood_ is a part of and the senior military officer under Moroboshi Hiromi in her position as **Director, United Nations Earth Defence Force** ( **DIR UNEDF** ). 

18) The **Neuwied Test** is my play-off on the magical version of an IQ test that often appears in _Harry Potter_ fanfics and is used to measure a wizard's total magical potential; I first introduced this in _Harry Potter and the Icemaidens_. To give you an idea of what the score means, an average wizard or witch scores between 120-160 points, someone like Albus Dumbledore would score over 200 points and house elves like Dobby score over 300 points. 

19) The rankings of the Houses of the Wizengamot in this story and my _Icemaidens_ stories: 

**Noble House** (a magical barony) — 1 point in the Wizengamot (34 houses = 34 votes)  
 **Most Noble House** (a magical viscountcy) — 2 points in the Wizengamot (18 houses = 36 votes)  
 **Noble and Ancient House** (a magical earldom) — 3 points in the Wizengamot (10 houses = 30 votes)  
 **Noble and Most Ancient House** (a magical marquessate) — 4 points in the Wizengamot (7 houses = 28 votes) 

The grand total of all noble houses in the Wizengamot — including extinct houses — would be sixty-nine separate houses sharing a vote spread of 128 "seat" votes. Normal wizarding families (such as the Weasleys and Bulstrodes) are known as **Loyal Magical Houses** and only have influence on the Ministry (as noted in the text above) when comes time to elect Her Majesty's Minister for Magic (the only pure democratic process in wizarding Britain) every ten years (or whenever the sitting Minister is either impeached and removed from office [as Cornelius Fudge was in 1996 and Pius Thicknesse was in the wake of Voldemort's downfall] or dies in office [as what happened to Rufus Scrimgeour in 1997]). 

20) The characters of Lieutenant **Cambria Nelson** of the Royal Navy, Captain **Britannia Wellesley** of the Life Guards (Britain's senior cavalry regiment) and Flight Lieutenant **Caledonia Mannock** of the Royal Air Force are my own creation; they would be the British participants in the **Steel Angel War** as depicted in the early volumes of _Kōtetsu Tenshi Kurumi_. I first used these girls in an episode of the _Emperor's Army_ storyline at the Anime Add-venture that ultimately inspired _Phoenix From the Ashes_ ; they appeared in episode #235416, "Harry Gets A Harem and Negi Gets A Big Sister." As noted in Part 52 of _PFtA_ , Moroboshi Negako promised all the Steel Angels that they would gain the chance to become organic humans. 

21) **Betty Braithwaite** was a minor character from _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ ; she interviewed her _Daily Prophet_ co-worker Rita Skeeter concerning her upcoming exposé on Albus Dumbledore in that story. I expanded on the character in the _Icemaidens_ stories and gave her a history. 

22) The concept of **requesting to sire** — as Crys introduced in _Pureblood Traditions_ — means that a wizard can be solicited to help parent a child for a witch without the necessity of said witch marrying said wizard. The reverse process would be called **requesting to dam**. Any child of such a coupling can be raised either by the parent requesting someone to sire/dam said child (sole custody) or raised by both parents (joint custody). Inheritance issues — especially when it comes to scions of noble houses — could be decided at the time the request to sire/dam is placed in. This process would allow same-sex couples to have children of their own. 

As an aside, in my eyes — stemming from JKR's revelation that Albus Dumbledore was gay — this would demonstrate some of the social advances magical society would have achieved long before like developments would occur in normal society; in the universe of this story and my _Icemaidens_ stories, same-sex marriages became legal in wizarding Britain in the late 1800s. 

23) **The Magical Beings, Beasts and Spirits Act, 1811** is my name for the official Wizengamot legislation that drew up the current classification list of all magical beings known to wizards and witches in Britain. 

24) **Mesonium** (often nicknamed "meson") and **Bauximite** are fictional trans-uranium elements I sometimes use in my stories. The former — as described in _The Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone_ — is "the atom of the mind and soul…and thus, of magic." Mesonium is the element a Power Jewel is constructed of. Bauximite is a highly explosive non-radioactive element that can be as temperamental as nitroglycerin if improperly handled. Bonding atoms of bauximite with hydrogen can make it more stable. 

As an aside, the **Lawgiver** — inspired by the like-named sidearm in _Judge Dredd_ — is the standard sidearm of the Men In Black and various alien governments known to them. 

25) Those fans of the _Tintin_ comics should recognise the old folk saying Harry thinks of as he watches over Draco in the Wizengamot meeting near the end of this story. 

26) **The Defunct Lords Act, 1957** is my name for the official legislation which officially declared various Houses of the Wizengamot "deceased" due to the fact that no proper magical heir — in other words, a child of magical parents who did NOT receive an invitation to Hogwarts at age eleven — had appeared to take control of the family seat in the Wizengamot. This is the explanation I used in my Icemaidens stories to explain why the Wizengamot only had about fifty members at the time of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ ; the fact that this law existed was one of the first blows Voldemort's allies amongst the pureblood nobility struck against the Ministry of Magic to ensure that normal-borns could not derail any legislation that would come to hurt them in the long term. 

27) **Lì Sǔ** is one of the minor Ravenclaw characters in Harry Potter's year in Hogwarts, as is **Tracey Davis** in Slytherin; **Mandy Brocklehurst** appeared only in _Philosopher's Stone_ at the Sorting of Harry's class. Both Sǔ and Tracey were introduced in the BBC 2001 television special _Harry Potter and Me_ , where JKR revealed her draft class list for Harry's year. Note that **Daphne Greengrass** was mentioned briefly in _Order of the Phoenix_ in the lead-up to the OWL examinations for that year; as many people who frequent this website know, she has become quite the popular character in various fanfic stories. Of course, **Pansy Parkinson** has been a background character in the series since the beginning; she was always seen as part of Draco Malfoy's clique at Hogwarts.


	2. Lost Relatives

_Level Nine of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (located under Northumberland Avenue east of Trafalgar Square) in the City of Westminster, London, Tuesday 18 June 1996, after supper…_

"This is it…it's through here…" 

"Harry!" 

Harry Potter paused on hearing his best female friend call out, and then he gazed on her. "What is it, Hermione?" he asked before noting the shocked look on her face. He then turned to gaze where she and the others who had come with them from Hogwarts — Ron and Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood — were now staring at. 

One look made the Boy-Who-Lived blink in curiosity. 

"Hello, Big Brother." 

Silence. 

More silence. 

Still more silence. 

And then… 

"' **Big Brother?! __**'" all of Harry's friends chorused as they stared at the leader of their party, and then they turned back to look at the woman who had spoken those words.

Said woman was about Harry's age, with rusty red hair that reminded the Boy-Who-Lived of the many pictures of his mother in the photo album Rubeus Hagrid had given him years before. Her eyes were the same vibrant green as Harry's…and even more, she wore reading glasses over her eyes. She was dressed in what appeared to be a white-and-red robe-type uniform of Oriental design; Harry remembered seeing pictures of some sort of priestess who worked in a temple in Japan in a library book he read once while he had attended primary school. There was no sign of a wand anywhere on her. 

Before Harry could demand to know what was going on, said girl then turned and walked quickly towards him, her lacquered wood sandals clattering loudly on the hard stone of the floor of the Hall of Prophecy. Her smile grew ever so bigger as she approached Harry…and then, before anyone could say a word, she flung her arms around him and swamped him with a hug that matched that of any motherly embrace Molly Weasley ever gave him. A second later, a powerful aura of magic enveloped them both for a moment, that making Harry's companions from Hogwarts back away a bit…as Luna's silver-blue eyes went very wide in shocked disbelief. "Oh, my…Helga's Curse…" 

The Weasley siblings and Neville turned to stare wide-eyed at their Ravenclaw friend. "Luna…that's just a LEGEND!" Ginny hissed out. 

"It is no story, Ginevra-san." 

Everyone perked on hearing that cold voice with its lilting accent, and then they turned as a woman dressed like the girl now hugging Harry — Ginny and Hermione were quick to note he was now hugging her back, their eyes filling with tears — appeared, though the newcomer was much older and clearly Oriental by descent. The one odd thing about this woman was her eyes: They were twin pools of pure black, even in the sclera around the barely-noticeable pupils and irises. She appeared to be a woman in her early thirties. On seeing her up close, Ron, Ginny and Neville paled in mortal terror as they took fearful steps away from the newcomer. Luna, however, had bowed her head politely. "Good evening, Tsukuyomi-sama," she said, using the Japanese honorifics even if she spoke English. She then gazed on the girl hugging Harry. "Is she really Harry's sister?" 

"Yes, she is, Luna-chan," the woman born over a century before as Yomigawa Tsukiko — known more commonly by her style name "Tsukuyomi-no-Tsukushi" in the Orient and the "Dark Lady Tsukuyomi" or the "Dark Lady of the Orient" in Europe — answered as she smiled in amusement at the daughter of the owner of the Quibbler _; they had met five years before when Xenophilius Lovegood went to Japan to do a forty-fifth anniversary interview with the woman who almost destroyed the old International Confederation of Wizards in 1946 by herself and helped usher in the International Conference of Magical Communities as the world-wide meeting house for Terran magicals. "Saved — as you just surmised — by the curse Helga Hufflepuff put on the land long ago to preserve the spirits of unborn children whose parents were killed (such as Rose-chan's mother) or permanently incapacitated (as Neville-kun's parents were)…then restored to life by means even_ **I** _find hard to understand." She gazed on Harry as he turned to look at her. "For that, do forgive me, Harry-kun. By the time I realized Rose-chan's connection to your parents — and thus, to you — I had taken her on as my apprentice. Given your oh-so-delightful problems with Tom Riddle, I felt it was wise to allow Rose-chan the chance to train in peace and not deal with the staleblood fools who would gladly destroy all that your parents sacrificed themselves to try to save years ago."_

Harry nodded. "I know…Rose just told me everything…" 

Hermione gaped. "How?" 

"It's called 'telepathy,' Hermione-san," Tsukiko explained. 

The normal-born from Sussex blinked. "Don't you mean Legilimency?" 

A tired sigh. "Europeans _…!" the legendary freedom fighter hissed out in disgust, which made the Weasley siblings and Neville wince…though Luna clearly was not bothered by the vile tone in Tsukiko's voice. "Always looking for stupid ways to make simple things convoluted and unnecessarily difficult…"_

As Hermione gazed in curiosity at the older woman, Rose then pulled away from Harry as she looked at him; both were about the same height, so she didn't have to look up at him. They stared into the other sibling's deep green orbs for a moment, and then they both giggled. That soon turned into warm laughter as they embraced each other again. As Luna sniffed back her tears at this wonderful moment — while it did strike her as wrong that Harry had **not** been told about his once-lost sister, she could understand the Lady Tsukuyomi's reasoning given the considerable interest many people in Britain had in the Boy-Who-Lived…especially when it came to one pesky Dark Lord and his silly followers — the others exchanged concerned looks before Hermione took a deep breath. "Um…much that I'm happy that Harry now has true family with him, we did come here to locate Sirius Black and make sure You-Know-Who hasn't hurt him…" 

"Sirius-dono is not here at this time, Hermione-san," Tsukiko stated. "No doubt thanks to Severus-dono's rather improper training methods when it came to defending one's mind from intrusion, Voldemort tricked Harry-kun into coming here." 

Hermione gasped as her eyes went wide. "Something in Row Ninety-seven…" 

A nod. "Well, let's go find Row Ninety-seven," Tsukiko bade. 

She, Harry and Rose — the younger Potter sibling having wrapped an arm around her brother's — walked towards the door to the Hall. Reaching the end of the row to their left, they looked to see the placard **53** there. A glance to their right showed the next tall shelf full of orbs to be marked with **52** on the placard. "This way!" Harry said as he pointed away from Row 52, then he jogged off, holding Rose's hand. 

As the others went after them, Tsukiko paused as well-honed magical and ki senses picked up on a small group of people having just entered the Department of Mysteries. Quickly noting the warped protean charm on their left lower arms that indicated each was branded with the Dark Mark, the Dark Lady of the Orient could only smirk. 

Let the games begin…and Britain finally fall _, she mused to herself…_

* * *

_****_

_**Wizards and Avalonians: Lost Relatives**_  
by Fred Herriot  
A side story to _Phoenix From the Ashes_

Based on _Harry Potter_ , created by Joanna K. Rowling; _Ikkitōsen_ , created by Shiozaki Yūji; and _Urusei Yatsura_ , created by Takahashi Rumiko. 

Including characters and references from _Mahō Sensei Negima_ , created by Akamatsu Ken; _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter_ , written by Seth Grahame-Smith; and _Highlander_ , created by Gregory Widen. 

_Phoenix From the Ashes_ was derived from the fanfic _The Bet: Crippled_ , written by Gregg Sharp. This story also contains characters and situations from the fanfic series _Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year_ , created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot; and the _Icemaidens_ series, created by Fred Herriot. 

* * *

**WRITER'S INTRODUCTION**

_This story is set after the events in_ Wizards and Avalonians _. The flashbacks, of course, depict a variation of the events of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and its aftermath, as shown in_ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

* * *

Crawley in West Sussex (three kilometres south of London Gatwick Airport), a hidden home in Cophall Wood off Charlwood Road, Tuesday 13 July 2010, just after dawn… 

It was the smell of English breakfast tea that woke Hermione Granger up. 

Groaning, the normal-born Special Adviser on Normal Affairs to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement groaned as she pulled herself up from her bed, stretching herself for a moment before standing up. A soft _pop!_ then heralded the arrival of a very beautiful raven-haired house elf dressed properly in the uniform of a maid serving the Noble House of Carter of Ifield. "Good morning, Miss 'Mione," Tappy said with a curtsey to her mistress. "Breakfast is being prepared at this time." 

"Thanks, Tappy," Hermione said as she plodded off to the bathroom. 

As she took a chance to take a long and invigorating shower, the normal-born of the Golden Trio of Hogwarts could only smile as she allowed the hot water to wake her up. Despite the many problems rebuilding wizarding society in Britain had presented to Harry Potter and his classmates after they graduated from Hogwarts in 1998, the lives of those who had been at the forefront of one of the greatest social revolutions in magical history had not suffered any problems. That came mostly thanks to the unspoken alliance Harry forged with the goblins of Gringotts, punctuated by the Boy-Who-Lived's return of the Sword of Gryffindor to Chief Director Ragnok in a public ceremony on the steps of the Diagon Alley branch of the international mercantile bank just after sixth year ended in 1997. That symbolic act of acknowledging goblin law and tradition when it came to objects their smiths had created had won the instant support of Gringotts…even if the pureblood traditionalists — including those who did not support Voldemort at the time — had howled in outrage at the turning over of a Founder's Artifact to the goblins. Still, doing that had ensured the Second Purification War would end quite quickly and without interference from Gringotts; in a private conversation some years later, Harry's estate manager Griphook confessed to Hermione that if he had been close to the Sword, he would have stolen it back by whatever means possible as a way of delivering a public slap to the face of all those wizards who had spat on and sneered at goblin beliefs over the centuries. 

_There, but with the grace of God, go I_ , Hermione mused as she shampooed her hair. Because of the alliance with the goblins, Harry and his friends had been able to cash in big time with their family fortunes after the war with Voldemort was done. Unlike the Ministry of Magic — until yesterday — because of the Defunct Lords Act of 1957 that forbade the normal-born descendants of Wizengamot lords from claiming their seats in the legislative body of Her Majesty's magical government, Gringotts was willing to ensure people like Hermione Granger — styled _The Right Honourable The Baroness Hermione of Ifield_ in the normal world — could claim what was rightfully theirs. And while the Carter fortune was quite small in comparison to the joint Potter/Black fortune that Harry inherited, it was still impressive. And growing bigger thanks to Griphook's keen nose for new economic opportunities. "Invest smartly, Master of My Vaults," Hermione ritually declared when she had been formally given control of her maternal family vaults in 1997. "I trust you to do what is necessary to shower us with gold." 

And speaking of which… 

"Your Ladyship?! Are you there?!" 

"Just a moment!" Hermione called out before stepping out of the shower and using some wandless magic to dry herself off before slipping on her bathrobe. 

Walking into the living room a moment later, she bowed politely to Griphook; her vault manager had her permission to walk into her home at any time she was here. "Master of My Vaults, may you defeat all before you and be showered with gold." 

Griphook bowed his head in return. "Your Ladyship, may your magic be strong so you can strike down all your enemies," he returned to her ritually before he smirked, showing his pointed teeth. "A little early for you, Hermione?" he asked with a wink. 

A laugh. "Not really, Griphook. So how was the reaction to yesterday's vote?" 

He cackled as she sat down across from him. Tappy then popped in with a cup of goblin tea, a spicy and nearly-poisonous concoction that was a morning delicacy to people like Griphook. As he smiled his thanks at the common courtesy shown to him by Hermione's elf, the normal-born special adviser could only shake his head before she nodded thanks as her elf handed her a cup of breakfast tea. _Amazing what simple acts of respect can do for people_ , she mused to herself. _Tsukiko-sensei was right all along. If wizards and witches in Europe would have stopped being so 'primate-centric' and 'blood-centric' all those years ago, dark lords would be just characters in novels like the ones that moron Lockhart tried to pass off for defence books in second year!_

"It gave all the directors quite a good laugh at their afternoon meeting," Griphook stated. "No questionable actions by any of Mister Malfoy's friends…" — he sneered on saying that name; unlike people such as Hermione and Harry, Griphook NEVER addressed the leaders of "dark" families like the Malfoys of Cumbria by the title "Lord" or its several normal cognates — "…that we took note of. Unofficially, of course," he added with another wink, which made Hermione laugh. Gringotts was quite strict when it came to privacy issues. Thought he was technically breaking the various clauses of several goblin-wizard treaties by telling Hermione about what her enemies might say within Gringotts' walls, given the standard "staleblood" attitudes when it came to goblins, the people whose parents fought for Voldemort were always treated with the barest level of common courtesy. "There is one small problem, though." 

"Bellatrix Lestrange." 

A nod. "While she hasn't come to Gringotts, she still has access to her family vault. And the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff." A smirk. "Pity the late Master Riddle never fully realized what he was potentially creating when he sought to remain forever immortal." 

"Not even the immortals who fight in the Game are truly immortal; chop off the head and it's all over. Nor are people like Freiherr von Taserich…as Master Hosan demonstrated when he allowed himself to die so that Major General Raeburn could succeed him as Grandmaster of his martial arts school," she noted before sipping her tea. "Lucky thing Tsukiko-sensei taught Harry how to use a soulsword to sever the links between Riddle and his horcruxi." A smirk crossed her face. "If that wasn't done, the Cup would have given Riddle yet another chance to come back…" 

A nod. "Which no one wants." A sigh. "Still…" 

"Cassiopeia?" 

Another nod. "Yes. By our laws, the Lady Cassiopeia would be the proper Viscountess of Barnet given her father's death at the Battle of Hogwarts. Her Avalonian body was created by the late Master Steven Holmes from the DNA of Lady Bellatrix and her husband, thus making her the blood-heir even if she was born by means which would not be considered proper by wizarding law. However, with the Magical Royal Proclamation concerning the Avalonians coming into play, there's simply nothing the Wizengamot can do to deny the Lady Cassiopeia her basic rights if questions about that ever came up. Furthermore, she was given both life and magic thanks to the Curse of Helga Hufflepuff — which is what ultimately saved her soul when she was still-born after her mother was imprisoned in Azkaban in 1981 — so she is magical and would inherit under the traditional laws of inheritance. And while the removal of the Defunct Lords Act did give her a better chance of taking up her family seat in the Wizengamot…" 

"She's a graduate of Meridiana. The Treaty of Ynys Môn — and all the laws that stem from that treaty between Hogwarts and Meridiana — gets in the way. With it there, she can't lay any sort of legal claim to anything owned by her parents. Which includes the contents of whatever is in the Lestrange family vault; if you tried to defy that, it's a clear violation of the Treaty of 1779 between the Ministry and Gringotts." 

"As is true for all the others that wonderful fellow helped restore to life in the 1980s," he finished. "A pity he passed away forgetting his true origins." 

"Well, according to Ambassador Holmes, her adopted father always saw himself more as Terran and English than Niphentaxian and whatever 'church' he was a part of before he was assigned to be an observer on Earth in the 1970s," she mused. "At least that Noukiite priest that was with the Imperial Marine team that came to Britain in February to clear our whatever other Niphentaxians were in the country properly blessed his grave." 

A nod. "A noble race, the Noukiites are. The Xiàolíng did us all great favours by cultivating such allies after she was given her life back at the fulfilment of the Promise of Bunka Go-nen." He then smirked. "Then again, given her brother's prowess in bed and his relationship with that one warrior who visited Tomobiki…" 

"She Who Speaks to Dragons," she noted. "Don't recall her proper name, though. Luna would know." A smirk…and then Hermione hummed. "Griphook…" 

"We also are concerned about a possible attack on the Xiàolíng and her family," Griphook affirmed with a nod. "Much that such would be suicidal given the Earth Angel's presence, Mister Malfoy and his friends may become that desperate…" 

A nod. "Which means…" 

A shark-like grin. "Indeed." 

Both gazed at each other, and then they returned to their tea… 

* * *

Level One of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, an hour later… 

"Good morning, everyone!" 

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Percy Weasley perked on hearing that very cheerful voice, and then they turned to watch as Hermione walked in, a smile on her face. On seeing that grin, both the Minister and the Senior Undersecretary winced. It was _that_ smile, the one that indicated that the female member of the Golden Trio was planning something that would cause a lot of headaches…even if it was ultimately for a good cause. 

Also present in the office at the time were several other department heads and senior subordinates. Chief Unspeakable Ian Boot — Terry Boot's father — was there from the Department of Mysteries, accompanied by Chief of Research Planning Daphne Greengrass. Director Lì Xīshèn — Lì Sǔ's father — was there for the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He was accompanied by the British Ambassador to the International Conference of Magical Communities — and Neville's paternal grandmother — the Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom of Holdenhurst. And from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, there were Harry Potter and Arthur Weasley, accompanied by Chief Auror Elaine Savage and Chief of Magical Secrecy Control Arnold Peasegood. 

"'Morning," the others called back. 

Except Harry. 

He was asleep. 

Hermione paused as she gazed on her best friend, and then she looked at Arthur. The chief of the Department of Non-Magical Artifact Abuse chuckled. "I'm afraid that his wives and his consort are simply tiring the poor man out, Hermione." 

Her cheeks then reddened. "Oh…!" 

"I never realized Avalonians could be so energetic when it comes to affairs of the bedroom," Sǔ's father mused as others laughed. Lì Xīshèn was the son of a Chinese magical who fled the mainland to Hong Kong in the wake of the rise of the People's Republic in 1949, then moved to Britain afterwards. He was the first wizard of Chinese descent to graduate from Hogwarts, having passed his NEWTs with flying colours in 1970 from Ravenclaw. Joining the DIMC right afterwards, he — thanks to pureblood prejudices against "foreign-born" wizards working for the Ministry of Magic, especially if they were Orientals — would not be confirmed as its director until six years ago, in the last round of votes Harry had been able to participate in before his promotion to the head of the DMLE. "Curious that Mandy, Pansy and Dora have not formed a bond-mating." 

"From what I understand about the _marei'cha_ process, it's similar — though a lot more flexible — than what happens when people become soul-bonded. Ginny's bonding to her new wife shows that pretty well," Daphne then mused. "Even if Mandy, Pansy and Dora do see Harry as their future _surei'cha_ by Sagussan cultural standards, there might be feelings of competition between them when it concerns him. Traditionally in Sagussan society, _marei'cha_ always must agree to all things when it comes to seeking out a _surei'cha_ to co-parent future children." She then gazed sympathetically at the sleeping Harry. "I only just hope that Harry will survive the ordeal." 

"What if I told you, Daph, I have a potential solution to the problem?" 

Eyes locked on Hermione. "Oh, Merlin! What have you got in mind now?" Kingsley asked. 

_That_ smile came back. "Renegotiate the Treaty of Ynys Môn." 

Silence. 

More silence. 

Still more silence. 

And then… 

"Merlin, Hermione! You don't do things by half, do you?!" Ian demanded. 

"Listen to you, Mister 'I Married a Weretiger!'" Arthur then teased. 

Laughter filled the room as Ian blushed. Terry's father was a peer of the Marauders, Lily Evans and Severus Snape; he graduated as a Ravenclaw with top NEWTs in 1978 and was sucked into the Unspeakables afterwards. A half-year later, he was saved from a roving pack of werewolves led by Fenrir Greyback by Michelle Peakes, a normal woman who had been cursed to be a weretiger when she was a child in India while her parents were serving as missionaries. Given Michelle's frightful strength when transformed — and given that she had taken the weretiger version of the Wolfsbane potion that night; such had been created by Padma and Parvati Patil's mother Aditi years before the family had migrated to Britain — she killed most of Fenrir's pack and saved Ian's life. The young Unspeakable — who had pretty much been a fence-sitter concerning the First Purification War until that moment — swore a magical Life Debt to Michelle and they married shortly afterwards. It was thanks to Ian that the Patils were able to be accepted in mainstream British society; it was Padma's and Parvati's father Adakitta who had financed Damocles Belby's development of Wolfsbane potion for werewolves some years later. 

"Why renegotiate that treaty, Hermione?" Kingsley asked. 

A smirk. "You know about Rose Potter, don't you?" 

A chuckle. "'Mione…Percy, Arthur and I were _there_ , remember?!" 

More laughter filled the room… 

* * *

_Level Nine of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, Tuesday 18 June 1996, after supper…_

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." 

Harry and Rose blinked in confusion, and then they turned to look. 

"Good evening, minna-dono," Yomigawa Tsukiko then greeted with her normal cold voice. 

Gargled breaths and croaks of mind-numbing horror escaped the crew of fourteen Death Eaters currently standing about three metres away from the visiting students from Hogwarts, the Dark Lady of the Orient and her current apprentice. As Harry's friends looked, they would be able to swear on their magic that those they could see like Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were now as white as ghosts on realizing their mission to the Ministry of Magic had just taken a potential turn for the worse. 

Even if their leader was rated a "dark lord" — thus was a spiritual equal to Yomigawa Tsukiko — the causes she and Tom Riddle fought for were worlds apart. Voldemort wanted the purebloods to rule supreme over all magicals in Britain…and eventually, the whole world. Tsukuyomi had fought for — and, with the help of the Americans, succeeded in — the total destruction of European wand wizarding hegemony over magical practices worldwide. Thus, in effect — to people such as Lucius and Bellatrix — this nigh-ageless Japanese woman was Albus Dumbledore taken to the worst extreme possible. 

Still, it could be salvaged… 

Lucius bowed immediately to the elderly Japanese witch. "Lady Tsukuyomi. On behalf of our liege lord, Lord Voldemort, I welcome you to the United Kingdom." 

A light smile. "Lucius-dono, you are as courteous as always." The smile then faded. "Especially when you confront true _strength. Witness this well, young ones," she then coldly bade Harry and his companions. "Were I not here, this staleblood inbred fool would be in his full arrogance, knowing his master's plan to trap you within this hall had succeeded and that he could obtain the prophecy orb now in Harry-kun's hands."_

Luna smiled as she noted the Death Eaters quaking in anger at being called "stalebloods" and "inbred." "Yet, with your presence, Tsukuyomi-sama, they know that if they do anything that displeases you, you could literally kill them with but a **thought** _!"_

"Quite correct, Luna-chan," Tsukiko said as she smiled in delight at the daughter of the owner of the Quibbler _. "Now, is it because of this prophecy orb that you risk the wrath of your ministry by coming here this evening?" she asked Lucius._

A faint nod. "Yes, My Lady. That prophecy is something my master desires." 

Tsukiko hummed. "I see." She gazed on Harry. "Have you heard this, Harry-kun?" 

A shake of the head. "No, Sensei. This is the first _I've heard about this."_

Ron, Ginny and Neville all gasped; if Harry was calling this woman "sensei," it could lead to a disaster for the whole of wizarding Britain. All Tsukiko had to do was offer an apprenticeship to be tutored by her to Harry Potter…and the Boy-Who-Lived could walk out of Hogwarts once and for all time; despite European attitudes towards the Dark Lady of the Orient, she was the first person to be rated Magistra Maximus _by ICMC standards and was known to be a stern but thorough teacher of magic. To become her apprentice would give Harry a chance to do anything in almost any country on Earth._

That _would be the ultimate slap in the face to wand magicals in Britain…though deep in his heart, Neville realized Harry had more than enough reasons to simply walk away from it all given how the Ministry and the press had treated him since the whole Chamber of Secrets debacle. And that didn't begin to mention the fact that Harry now had a_ sister _— one saved by an ancient magical curse that, according to legend, had been created by Helga Hufflepuff to protect the souls of unborn children whose parents were killed by dark magicals — that was now the Lady Tsukuyomi's current apprentice._

"I see," Tsukiko trilled out before she shook her head. "Albus, you **idiot** _…!" As the Death Eaters gaped in shock at her, she then held up her hands in a "why me?" gesture. "So blinded by your own hubris and public image…you_ **fool** _…!" She then sighed. "Rose," she bade her apprentice. "Show your brother the prophecy."_

A nod. "Hai, Sensei!" 

Rose then held her hands up as if she was surrendering before she moved to cross her lower arms in an "X" formation before whispering, "Eien no Ai Ani-sama… _"_

"Oh, Merlin, no…!" 

"Mater Scientia, Minerva! Ad Se Me Alliciat… _"_

"What?!" Lucius demanded as he glared at Rodolphus Lestrange. 

"REVELIO PROPHETIA! _"_

" **SHE'S BEEN TRAINED AT _MERIDIANA_ …! __**" Bellatrix's husband cried out…

…before a gigantic burst of pure magical power exploded from Rose's body to encompass both her and Harry in a ball of pure white light. 

" **HARRY! __**" Hermione screamed out as everyone save Tsukiko ducked away from that blinding explosion of raw magical power, squeezing their eyes shut…

…and then the light faded. 

Silence then fell as people gazed in the direction of the Potter siblings. "What happened…?" Neville then demanded. "Harry…?" 

"The bindings are gone… _"_

Eyes locked on Luna, who had a lost look on her face. "Luna!" Ginny gasped. 

"Oh, Merlin! She's a Seer!" Rodolphus' brother Rabastan croaked out. 

People quickly silenced themselves as the young Ravenclaw mumbled, "Innocence is forever lost…truth is now known…the Chosen One is loyal no more…the Curse of Hufflepuff saved them all…the Children of the Two Phoenixes come… _" And with that, Luna then jolted before a confused look crossed her face. "Hello! Oh, my! What are we doing in the Hall of Prophecy?" she then asked._

Ginny and Ron moaned…before they tensed on hearing Harry clear his throat. As they turned to watch, the Boy-Who-Lived walked over to hold out the prophecy orb to Lucius Malfoy. "Please convey this to Lord Voldemort with my compliments." 

Everyone from Hogwarts save Luna gaped in shock. " **HARRY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! __**" Ron screamed out. " **YOU'RE ACTUALLY GIVING YOU-KNOW-WHO THE PROPHE-…UURRRK! __**"

THAT came from the incensed look on Harry's face as he glared at his best friend. "Ron, you're a genius at chess and quidditch…but there are times that you are simply CLUELESS about **everything else** _!" he snarled out as his green eyes flashed with the radiance of the Killing Curse that had been used on him years before by Voldemort…in answer to the prophecy whose recording was now in his hand. "Put it together! The Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the Triwizard Tournament…not to mention Tom coming to kill me when I was a baby! Doesn't that say something?!"_

"In other words…it's either You-Know-Who or Harry!" Hermione stated. 

Ron blinked…and then he moaned. "Right…" 

Harry smiled…and then he placed the prophecy orb in Lucius' hand. "There you go," he said. "Now, since you probably also came here to try to kill me or capture me to take me to your master, what say we step out into the main hall here and have a good old fashioned wand duel to see if that happens? Sound okay to you?" 

The Death Eaters jolted, surprised on hearing that flippant tone in the voice of the Boy-Who-Lived, and then Bellatrix sneered. "And what makes you think, little Potty, that we're going to behave ourselves?! The Dark Lord wants you…!" 

"Rose. Torture them," Harry coldly bade. 

A lethal smile. "Can I kill _them, Big Brother?" Rose then asked with a pout._

"You can kill them once Tom gets here," Harry stated. 

"Oh, okay! POTENTIO MUTIPLO MORSMORDRE CRUCIO! _"_

And all the Death Eaters screamed in agony… 

* * *

"Harry already has a proxy for his family vote; it's his wife," Elaine Savage noted. 

"True…but there are several of Tsukiko-sensei's other apprentices who could be allowed to fill their family seats, Elaine," Hermione stated, ignoring the shivers from many of the people present on her saying _that_ name. "If necessary, Raven Malfoy can take Draco's place as regent for Scorpius if he does something stupid; the old laws wouldn't allow Astoria to serve as regent because she is currently Daphne's heir to the Greengrass family seat in the Wizengamot. Atop that, there's Sally-Anne Perks' lover Libera Meretrice, Vince Crabbe's sister Charlotte, Greg Goyle's sister Ariel…and the biggest prize of all: Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter Cassiopeia." 

Hearing that, the others hummed. The younger Vincent Crabbe had been the only one of Hogwarts' Class of 1991 to die before final graduation in 1998; he was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts nearly a year earlier thanks to an accident with Fiendfyre that immolated parts of the Room of Requirement…and destroyed one of Voldemort's horcruxi stored there, the Diadem of Ravenclaw. Because of that, the Noble House of Crabbe of Saxmundham was cut down to the elder Vincent Crabbe and his long-suffering wife Helena. Thanks to his crimes as a Death Eater, the then-Lord Crabbe was imprisoned in Azkaban for the rest of his life and his family seat declared defunct…even though his still-born daughter had been saved by the Curse of Hufflepuff and given new life as Charlotte Crabbe. A graduate of Meridiana who took classes alongside Nekane Springfield, the niece of the Thousand Master himself, Charlotte — like Rose — apprenticed under Yomigawa Tsukiko and currently lived with her mother at their home near the North Sea coast of Suffolk. These days, she helped manage her family fortune; Charlotte herself could not inherit direct control over the family vault in Gringotts thanks to the Treaty of Ynys Môn and the laws stemming from it that blocked Meridiana students or alumni from having anything to do with anything under the control or influence of the Ministry of Magic or any Hogwarts student or alumni. To help earn her own personal income, Charlotte secretly worked as a home tutor for normal-born young wizards, witches and magi before they would go to Hogwarts or Meridiana with the approval of both Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and the current Magus of the Meridiana Magic Academy, Master Afon Tryweryn. 

Greg Goyle currently served as the Viscount of Wolverhampton. Like Draco Malfoy, Greg escaped imprisonment after the Battle of Hogwarts because he had not been marked as a Death Eater by Voldemort, thus he could claim his family seat after his father had been sentenced to life in prison for treason against the Crown and the Ministry. A year after graduating, he married Hestia Carrow, a sister Slytherin from the Class of 1992 who was one of twin daughters of one of Voldemort's senior fighters, Amycus Carrow. Thanks to Harry killing Amycus and his sister Alecto during "Death Eater Season" in the summer of 1997, Hestia's twin sister Flora became the new Baroness of Norwich…and, out of sheer disgust for her father and aunt and their murderous ways, eventually married a normal-born Hufflepuff from the Class of 1994, Kevin Whitby. Hestia was persuaded by her mother Melia to marry Greg Goyle to form an alliance between the two families. And while she had trouble trying to influence her husband — Greg was still doggedly loyal to Draco, as his father Lance had been to Lucius — Hestia had become close friends to Greg's once-lost sister Ariel, Charlotte's dorm-mate at Meridiana and another friend of Nekane Springfield's. These days, Ariel resided at the Goyle family home and effectively served as the family matriarch; their mother Philippa had passed away five years ago, shortly after Lance himself died in Azkaban. Despite all Draco's words concerning Ariel, there was nothing that could be done to force her from the Goyle home; before her death, Philippa made sure her son would properly accept his sister. 

The Most Noble House of Meretrice of Wye — their ancestral keep was located in the village of Rhosan Green at the north end of the Forest of Dean — had produced nothing but squibs since the mid-1800s. Unlike Voldemort's maternal relatives, it wasn't because of extreme inbreeding; the true cause of the mass birth of squibs since that time remained a mystery to this very day. Because of that, their family seat in the Wizengamot was kept in recess until it was declared "defunct" in 1957. During the First Purification War, Voldemort himself had sensed that magical children would be born of several couples from Rhosan Green, then moved to demand that the parents swear fidelity to him and his cause. Said parents refused him; they knew of Voldemort's ancestry and refused to serve a half-blood bastard child. That caused them to be killed en masse…when Ceres Meretrice had been pregnant with QUINTUPLETS! 

Fortunately for those poor children — not to mention the unborn children of other couples who lived in Rhosan Green — their spirits were preserved by the Curse of Hufflepuff long enough for a Niphentaxian observer on Earth to find them thanks to his adopted Avalonian daughter…and eventually were allowed to truly live six years after the First Purification War ended at Godric's Hollow. All had been classmates of Nekane's at Meridiana, though they had never taken lessons under the infamous Tsukuyomi. These days, the Meretrice sisters and their coven-mates from Rhosan Green all lived private lives…though the eldest of the quints, Libera, was soul-bonded to one of Harry's and Hermione's normal-born peers from Hogwarts, Sally-Anne Perks. It was because of that soul-bond that the blonde tomboyish Hufflepuff had withdrawn from school before OWLs had been held in the late spring of 1996 as — so it was said at the time — there could be _no_ romantic liaisons between a Hogwarts student and a Meridiana student. Sally-Anne would eventually take her OWLs after the Battle of Hogwarts…though, in the wake of her being made to resign from school over a year earlier, she elected to become the homemaker in hers and Libera's relationship. She also vowed to ensure no child raised by her and Libera would EVER attend Hogwarts. 

As for Cassiopeia Lestrange and Raven Malfoy… 

* * *

_Level Nine of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, Tuesday 18 June 1996, an hour before sunset…_

"Hello, Mother." 

Bellatrix gasped on hearing that quiet voice, and then she turned… 

…before she found herself gazing wide-eyed on a woman who — save for the subtle differences in facial features and the lighter shade of hair that matched what her husband and brother-in-law had — could have been her _twenty years ago!_

"Wh-who…?" 

"Morsmordre Crucio! _"_

Bellatrix screamed in agony as the burning sensation of the Cruciatus Curse ripped through her Dark Mark and assaulted every nerve in her body. As she collapsed to the tiled floor of the Death Chamber — where she had, minutes before, condemned her cousin Sirius Black to the Veil — the most skilled of Voldemort's followers tried desperately to hang onto her wand as this nightmarish image slowly advanced on her. Watching this from nearby, many of the Order of the Phoenix and the students from Hogwarts — including a stunned Harry Potter, now being comforted by Rose — were simply speechless at the sheer level of power and control Bellatrix's daughter showed in wandlessly torturing the older woman. After about a minute or so, Cassiopeia made a wave of her fingers to cancel the Cruciatus on her mother's Dark Mark before sighing. "This _is how you can hurt them, Harry," she then calmly stated as she gazed on her friend's brother. "Don't bother with such a plain curse. Spice it up a bit!"_

"Besides, it's totally legal _under your laws," a voice from nearby declared._

Everyone looked over to the sultry platinum blonde woman — who looked EXACTLY like a female Draco Malfoy — now standing over her unconscious father. "What do you mean, Raven?" Hermione — who had just been saved by Draco's sister from a dark flame curse flung at her by Antonin Dolohov with a handy shield charm — then asked. 

Raven Malfoy's pale blue eyes then sparkled. "Watch, Mione-chan… 

"Morsmordre Imperio! _"_

Lucius gargled as all conscious thought vanished from his mind, and then he slowly got to his feet. As people watched this, he took his wand and levelled it on Antonin. The raven-haired Slavic wizard — Antonin was descent from magical Russians who had fled to Britain in the wake of the October Revolution of 1917 — paled. "Lucius, no…!" 

"Avada Kedavra! _"_

A blast of green light later, the man who had tried to kill Hermione minutes earlier collapsed dead onto the floor. As most of the Order of the Phoenix gaped in horror at the sight of one of the deadliest of Voldemort's fighters slain at the hand of his very own comrade, Raven snapped her fingers. Lucius jolted…and then paled as his memories caught up with him. "No…Antonin…!" he gasped before he tensed on hearing the sensual hiss! _of a sword being drawn out of its scabbard. "No…!"_

"Pity you have always been so short-sighted, Father," a voice that sounded so much like his wife's then declared. "If you had only accepted certain things, I wouldn't have to do this _to you…!"_

Lucius then screamed as the glowing blade of a katana punched through his body below his diaphragm. With a quick drawback, Raven yanked her sword out of her father's body, thus allowing him to collapse on the floor. "Lucius!" Lance Goyle screamed in horror before he levelled his wand at the silver-haired demon that had stabbed his friend. "CRUCIO! _" he bellowed out as a bright red blast of energy zeroed in on Raven._

Seeing that, members of the Order moved to stun him unconscious…before they stopped to gaze in disbelief on seeing Raven Malfoy NOT affected by the torture curse now washing over her thanks to Greg Goyle's father. As the Death Eater trying to hurt her stopped — his eyes wide with disbelief on seeing that this hideous demon was unbothered by what he had tried to do to her — Raven smirked. "Ouch." 

"Damn…!" Ron Weasley gasped. 

Raven smiled at him. "You are a cute one, aren't you?" As the youngest Weasley son turned a deep shade of red, Draco's sister then glared at Lance. "My turn… 

"Morsmordre Crucio! _"_

Lance wailed in pain as a very faint beam of light escaped Raven's hand to tear into his left arm…and then said beam was cut off by a large hunk of masonry. As Lance collapsed unconscious to the floor, Raven turned before she sighed. "Why?" 

"That was not necessary, young lady." 

The members of the Order breathed out in relief on seeing the former headmaster of Hogwarts step into the Death Chamber. "Professor Dumbledore!" Nymphadora Tonks called out. "Thank Merlin you're here! Tsukuyomi's here! These girls are…!" 

"Calm yourself, Nymphadora. I can always sense it whenever she's close by," Albus Dumbledore stated before he sighed and looked around. "Tsukiko! I know you're here! Show yourself!" 

He then tensed before turning…and then he sighed as he levelled the Elder Wand at the black-eyed woman standing at the doorway leading into the main hall of the Department of Mysteries. "Hello, Albus," Yomigawa Tsukiko stated as she stepped into the light, her voice dripping with scorn. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" 

He glared at her… 

* * *

"Alright, then," Kingsley stated with a firm nod of his head. "Hermione, I want you and Daphne to team together to research all the laws stemming from the Treaty of Ynys Môn. If you can get a bill prepared, have it done by Monday coming up." 

Hermione and Daphne exchanged looks, and then they nodded… 

* * *

The London borough of Barnet, a hidden house near Mays Lane, an hour later… 

"Renegotiate the Treaty of Ynys Môn? Why?" 

Hermione sighed. "Because until a new treaty is in place, you can't get at your family vault in Gringotts. And we need to get to that vault before your mother gets a chance and finally learns of what exactly is inside that vault," she said before sipping from the cup of sencha Cassiopeia Lestrange had given her. "Besides, it would clear away the final obstacle from you — not to mention Libera Meretrice and Charlotte Crabbe — taking control of the family seat in the Wizengamot. Originally, it didn't matter what school you went to when it came to sitting in the Wizard's Council; the prohibition came into play with the Ministry Governance Act of 1705 when the modern Ministry was formed." 

"Then amend the act," Cassiopeia stated. "That's all you have to do." 

Both Hermione and Daphne blinked. "That's all?" the latter demanded. 

"That's all," the brown-haired, hazel-eyed daughter of Voldemort's most powerful fighter said with a smirk. "You know, Sensei is so right when it comes to European wand magicals. How easily you complicate things that are so simple in the long term." 

"I can agree with that," Hermione stated as Daphne laughed. "So why just amend that?" 

"Simple. The Treaty of Ynys Môn was a magical 'gentleman's agreement' between the first Magus of Meridiana and the Founders of Hogwarts so that neither side could poach potential students from the other school. Remember how fractured magical teaching was a millennia ago. Private apprenticeships with no set standards. The only decent place to learn how to use magic in the Christian world at the time thanks to the Muslims having seized Jerusalem — thus invoking the Pope's wrath and his Magical Papal Bull concerning seeking magical training in Islamic-influenced schools — was Ariadne." As the visiting witches nodded, their magi-trained host sighed. "Of course, people back then didn't want to travel to another PLANET to learn magic alongside all sorts of magical creatures…especially given the fact that many humans could interbreed with the native Nerioites. And did, too!" That earned her laughter from Hermione and Daphne; both had seen pictures of the many human-like therianthropes native to what was properly called "Nerio" and most often nicknamed the _Mundus Magicus_ , which orbited the Sun between Earth and Mars in a quasi-hidden magical pocket dimension that couldn't be breached by normal means. So many of them were so human…even if they had animal ears and tails! "So Magus Bryn proposed that a magical sensor net be scattered all across Britain and Ireland, linked to the Roll Books in both Hogwarts and Meridiana. As soon as a magical was born, the Roll Books would automatically try to interpret what sort of magic the newborn possessed. Any links with Nerio…" 

"Was an automatic candidate for Meridiana. Most anyone else went to Hogwarts," Daphne finished for her host. "And that's been going on ever since." 

"Right," Cassiopeia affirmed with a nod. "And back in those days — long before the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was even proposed as a way of dealing with the Dark Times of Magic during the Reformation years — there were occasions when Hogwarts graduates and Meridiana graduates worked together to deal with magical issues. I can't even speculate on how many magical pactios were created between a Meridiana-trained mage and a Hogwarts-trained wizard or witch. Many Meridiana graduates served in the Wizard's Council; several even served as the Chief Sorcerer or Sorceress of the Kingdom!" 

"Wait…" 

Eyes locked on Daphne. "What?" Hermione asked. 

"I just realized why people moved to cut Meridiana off from the Ministry." 

"What's that?" Cassiopeia asked. 

"Because of the whole pactio thing," the Countess of Mutuantonis stated. "Look at Negi Springfield. When he went to teach English at Mahora, he formed pactios with all sorts of people. Most of them were what we'd call 'muggle' here in Britain. His wife would be a muggle by that standard." She smirked. "The Statute of Secrecy demands that no normal person who is not an immediate relative of the wizard or witch in question — by blood or marriage — can be informed of the existence of magic. The only exceptions to that rule are officers of government who need to be in the know." 

"So when the Ministry Governance Act was proposed to reform the Wizard's Council, those who had been trained at Meridiana couldn't agree to cut off all potential contacts with normals. That would have limited their choices of potential partners to form pactios with." Hermione then shook her head. "Idiots…just another damned, stupid way of trying to control things to no one's real benefit!" she spat out. "No wonder Tsukiko-sensei went berserk on all the colonial ministries in Asia in the 1930s!" 

Cassiopeia laughed. "It's a wonder to me that they didn't try to kill you when you agreed to become Sensei's apprentice before Riddle was killed, Mione-chan," she said. "It should have been as obvious as coal in a ballroom that you wouldn't stop until you finally dragged all the wand-wavers in this country into the Twenty-first Century." 

"That's always been her good point," Daphne noted. "By the way…" 

A sigh. "I haven't seen Mother…and I have alert wards all over the property that will scream it out if she tries to come into the house," Cassiopeia stated. "The only place I _can't_ ward is the vault at Gringotts. Did you tell Griphook…?" 

"He knows," Hermione stated with a nod. "They'll keep an eye out for her." 

"So how should we word the bill for Monday?" Daphne asked. 

Hermione smirked as she drew out a pad of paper and a pen… 

* * *

Islington, 12 Grimmauld Place, that moment… 

"I think we're burning Harry out, girls!" 

Both Mandy Potter and Pansy Black perked on hearing their co-lover's words. "No! You think?!" Harry's Slytherin wife then said as she smirked at Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, who was now officially seen as the Man-Who-Won's consort. While any children born between Harry Potter and the now-retired metamorphmagus auror would have the proper protection of both the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter of Taunton Deane and Black of Grimmauld, no such child could directly inherit either family seat…unlike the case of any child born of the former Mandy Brocklehurst or Pansy Parkinson. Added to that was the complication that Mandy was _**also**_ the heiress apparent of the Noble House of Lynch of Knapton. This would normally mean that any second child between Harry and Mandy would become the next Baron or Baroness of Knapton. Mandy hoped to convince Dora to take up the proxy vote for her late mother's family — as Dora was Mandy's co-lover, it would be allowed under normal circumstances — but after everyone had got back to Grimmauld Place in the wake of the previous day's events at the Wizengamot, more primal urges had taken over and they had spent the night ravaging their husband/lover. 

"We are going pretty crazy with him," Mandy noted as she sipped her tea, gazing out the kitchen window onto the quiet lane where they lived. "Why is that, anyway?" 

"Simple," Pansy stated. "With our magic returned to us, our cores are driving us to mate with our husband to bring forth children. In Dora's case, Harry is not just Teddy's godfather, he's also a very powerful wizard who could father more children for her now that she's recovered from what her aunt did to her. But…" 

"Magic doesn't seem to realize that our bioroid bodies need about a month to fully start ovulating so we can get knocked up finally," Dora finished with a smirk as she gave Pansy an appraising look. For the sake of Dora's son, all three women were dressed in housecoats…though they didn't go far past their crotches and none of them wanted to wear panties or any other foundation garment. "Lucky thing we turned down Lady Negako's invite to learn the tantric arts of her family's school." 

"My God! We'd kill Harry if we used THAT on him!" Mandy moaned. 

"Good point," Pansy mused as she got up to put her tea cup into her sink, and then she poised herself behind her co-wife as her hands reached under Mandy's housecoat to get at her firm buttocks, that making the other girl gasp in shock. 

"Pansy!" Mandy yelped. 

"Drop the shields, Mandy-vayae," Pansy purred into the other woman's ear as her fingers gently began to probe between Mandy's legs. "It's what our husband wants…" 

Smirking at the sight of Pansy — who clearly liked being in the dominant position when it came to any female lovers she had — trying to trigger the genetic programming inside Mandy so they could become _marei'cha_ at last, Dora stood up and walked out of the kitchen into the sitting room so she could relax before the hearth fire and allow her re-awoken magic to fully bind with her new body and all its wonderful abilities. 

"I take it your co-lovers are being a little frisky now, Dora?" a voice then teased. 

Dora smirked. "Well, even if there are still some dominance issues inside their subconscious minds, I think they'll bond pretty soon, Grandaunt," she said as she gazed on the portraits of Walburga and Orion Black, Sirius' parents. 

"And what of you, young lady?" the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black then asked from Dora's left rear. "Any possible soul-mate for you? I know you miss Remus…" 

A sigh as her eyes teared. "Yeah…" 

The portraits in the living room fell respectfully silent as they sensed the retired auror about to break down and cry. Given what had ultimately happened to her, it was quite understandable that she still felt the raw pain of the death of her husband Remus Lupin at the Battle of Hogwarts. Forced into a magical coma by Bellatrix Lestrange in 1997, Nymphadora Lupin had spent the next thirteen years in a "wide-awake nothing" until she had been allowed days ago to become a Terran-turned-Avalonian thanks to the Earth Angel, Moroboshi Negako, aboard H.M.S. _Hood_ during a levée with Her Majesty in attendance. While it had done Dora a ton of good — her overall magical power had increased by fifty percent once she awoke in her new body — it still didn't help her get over the fact that she had missed out on the birth and early life of her son Ted, much less help her mourn the loss of her husband…to say anything of her parents, both of whom had been killed by Death Eaters in the late spring of 1997, just before Albus Dumbledore was killed by Severus Snape during a failed invasion of Hogwarts. 

Dora DID have the comfort that those people who had killed her parents — the infamous Carrow siblings — had been hunted down and killed by Harry Potter personally. 

But still… 

"You should seek out a separate lover, Dora," Phineas then advised. "Yes, it is — in your eyes — still too soon, but Avalonians DO practice 'intimate therapy' for those who lost a loved one. Ms. O'Neill and Ms. Carter told us that once." 

Dora hummed. "I don't know, Professor…" she then breathed out. "I mean, I'd prefer a magical lover, of course…" — that earned her approving nods from both Orion and Walburga — "…but the only one close to my age I could see being lovers with is Hermione Granger. Harry looks on her as an adopted sister; it would just weird them out to get them in a _surei'cha_ -type situation." She then hummed. "Still…" 

"What?" Orion asked. 

"There are some of the girls Ambassador Holmes' father helped rescue from the power of the Curse of Hufflepuff and made Avalonians back in the mid-1980s," Dora noted. 

All the portraits gaped at her. "That's right! Harry's delightful sister is one of them!" Phineas stated. "I even heard that Bellatrix has a daughter who's one!" 

"Cassiopeia!" Walburga stated, giggling with delight. "I just loved watching Harry put her, Rose and Raven onto the family tapestry after he became the head of house!" 

"Still, Rose IS Harry's sister," Dora noted. "Raven and Cassiopeia are my maternal first cousins, too!" She hummed. "There ARE the Meretrice girls, though…" 

"Sarah Perks' sisters-in-law, you mean?" Orion asked. 

Dora gaped. "You know Sally-Anne?!" 

"Of course!" Walburga said as the other portraits all laughed, and then she frowned. "That poor girl! Just because she met up with Lady Libera in the Forest of Dean before her fifth year and fell in love with her was no excuse to make her leave Hogwarts!" 

"There was no violation whatsoever of the Statute of Secrecy rules," the portrait of Sirius' grandfather and Orion's predecessor as head of the House of Black, Arcturus, then stated. "Sarah was a witch — a muggleborn, yes, but wanting to learn everything about her new society…and her parents served the Queen as soldiers, for Merlin's sake! — and Libera was learning how to be a mage at Meridiana! That was done for centuries before the Statute was passed!" A shake of the head. "Disgusting…!" 

"That was another thing we could blame old Delores Um-bitch for!" Dora snarled before sipping the rest of her tea before relaxing in her chair… 

* * *

Unseen by his mother and unnoticed by the portraits in the living room, a smiling brown-haired boy of twelve was standing very still in the hallway that connected the living room with the kitchen and the stairs heading to the upper floors. Dressed now in a blue H.M.S. _Hood_ T-shirt — one of a set of five that had been given to him by Ginny Weasley's new wife, the former Nell McAndrew, on Sunday — and slacks, Ted Lupin could only smirk as he ghosted his way up the stairs up to the second floor, where his bedroom was located. Walking inside and locking the door magically behind him — Harry had begun teaching his godson wandless magic after Ted's seventh birthday — he then made his way to his work desk, where a dataPADD awaited him. Another present from Nell McAndrew-Weasley, the Avalonian-built laptop computer/communicator was fully linked to both the HyperNet and the MagicNet; Ted had taken the device to the Technomancy Shoppe to get the links to the magical version of the Internet put in the day before while Harry and his wives were busy tearing apart the stalebloods in the Wizengamot. 

With the PADD, he was now able to get in contact with a whole host of people…including Harry's maternal first cousin once removed, Margaret Dursley. A pretty girl who just turned seven, she was the daughter of Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley and his late wife Eleanor Dresden; the older woman had died in an auto accident on the M25 when Maggie was only two. Dudley — with silent financial support from Harry — chose to raise Maggie as a single parent…but the grief Maggie's father felt at the loss of his wife drove him into taking drugs. Arrested and forced into detox — which he had accepted with a grace and maturity that shocked all of those people he had bullied in the past — Dudley allowed his parents Vernon and Petunia to take charge of Maggie until he was clean and could once more act as a proper father. It was all okay… 

…until she began displaying signs of accidental magic. 

To Dudley's parents, it was simply too much. 

While some would state that being forced to care for Harry Potter — who had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT after Voldemort's first fall — without any chance to choose whether or not to take responsibility for a magical child was a mitigating factor, it still never excused the level of emotional and physical abuse they heaped on Petunia's nephew over the next ten years. Recalling that, Ted then grinned as he remembered a pensieve memory Harry had shown him of the day the Dursleys were shown how powerless they were when it came to their nephew… 

* * *

_The borough of Camden in London, King's Cross Station near Platform 9 3/4, Friday 28 June 1996, late afternoon…_

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," Arthur Weasley said. 

"Yeah," Alastor Moody growled. "About how he's treated when he's at your place." 

Watching his uncle and aunt quiver in outrage over being confronted like this by four adult magicals, Harry tried not to smirk on seeing Vernon and Petunia Dursley put on the spot like this…especially on the normal _side of the entrance to Platform 9 3/4. A quick glance to Dudley Dursley, however, surprised Harry. His maternal cousin — who was still quite large, though clearly becoming quite buff and muscular because of his boxing — was glancing fearfully about…but his eyes were focusing on Harry, then his father, then back to Harry again. Noting that, Harry smirked. Pity that a certain arrangement had been made; hadn't a certain someone from Japan imposed herself between the Boy-Who-Lived and the Ministry of Magic, he would still be subject to the Trace on his wand. Not to mention still be under the magical guardianship of Albus Dumbledore…which would be legally terminated the instant he walked into Gringotts for Sirius Black's will reading; his new sensei had told him about the vision his godfather had around Easter — the coming of the Grim — which foretold his pending death._

Fortunately, Gringotts didn't care at all about the legal status of wizards who had NOT been given any sort of trial for crimes by the Ministry of Magic. 

Oh, dear…too bad… 

Finally, after a moment of his moustache flaring and his skin turning a deep shade of puce, Vernon then snarled, "I am not aware that it is any of your business…" 

"Are these the creatures who abused _you, Harry-kun?"_

Arthur, Dora Tonks and Remus Lupin all paled on hearing that cold voice as Harry turned to smile at the Oriental woman in the fashionable business suit who just walked through the barrier dividing Platform 9 3/4 from the rest of King's Cross. Moody smirked as he gazed over his shoulder at Harry's new teacher. "Aye, Lady Tsukuyomi, these are the pathetic arse-wipes that find it no problem to lock up children in **cupboards under the stairs** _because they might be a bit different," the retired master auror stated with a toothy grin. "Pity questions about James' and Lily's wills were never raised at the Ministry before that idiot dumped the lad with these fools!" As the adult Dursleys sputtered on hearing such words applied to them — Dudley was gaping in surprise at what Moody just said — the old warrior added, "Might have saved Harry some trouble."_

"Well, it will be resolved very soon," Yomigawa Tsukiko stated as she reached up to pull off her sunglasses to reveal her black eyes, that making Vernon and Petunia croak out in horror on seeing such unnatural dark orbs peeking out of such a normal-looking face. Dudley was also gaping, though more in curiosity. It was something the Dark Lady of the Orient was quick to note. "You have a question, young man?" 

Dudley blinked, and then he asked, "Are you a metahuman?" 

Tsukiko blinked in surprise on hearing THAT asked of her…and then she roared with laughter as Harry snickered and Moody guffawed. As Dudley's parents looked at him in shock and disbelief, the visitor from Japan winked at him. "Actually, my eyes are like this thanks to a rather ugly accident with some ebony meson when I was much younger and not so wise to the ways of the world. You must be Harry-kun's cousin. No after-effects from those soul-wraiths that attacked you last summer near your home?" 

A smirk. "Depends on how you define 'after-effects,' ma'am." 

"Dudley…" 

"Be silent…or be dead _."_

Petunia croaked on hearing that dire threat from Tsukiko, and then she turned to gaze on Moody. "You can't allow her to do this! You have laws…!" 

"Silencio! _"_

Vernon jolted on hearing total silence from his wife. "BOY! You'll…!" 

"Silencio! _"_

Now he was flapping his jaw with no effect…which made the other Weasleys and the Grangers — all of whom had gathered nearby to watch this — snicker with delight. "When I get finished with you, Harry-kun, you'll be able to do that wandlessly _and_ without spoken words _," Tsukiko vowed before she glared at the adult Dursleys. "I do not threaten people like Alastor-san and his friends were about to do. I_ promise _…and I_ fulfil _my promises. Karma has a way of striking back at you for bad deeds. You now have to answer for_ sixteen years _of abuse…and I will see to it you_ **do** _answer for it!" She smiled at Dudley. "Follow your son's honourable example…or else I may have to contact a friend named Dean Raeburn." As Vernon and Petunia gaped in shock on hearing the name of the leader of the War Hawks, Tsukiko added, "She's friends with your_ Queen _. I wonder how Her Majesty would view your actions towards your nephew." As the adult Dursleys turned a sickly grey on hearing THAT unspoken threat — like many normal Britons, they were passionate monarchists…and could guess what the disfavour of the Crown could do to them — she gazed on Dudley. "We'll be busy at Gringotts for a day or so, Dudley-san. Be assured, you will be protected from Voldemort and his ilk by two house elves who have gladly agreed to serve Harry-kun. We shall arrive at the house tomorrow. Come, Harry-kun!"_

Harry nodded at Dudley…before spitting into his aunt's face, which made Petunia recoil in shock. He then headed off in Tsukiko's wake as Moody whispered, "Finite! _" He then smirked. "You're thinking right now about finding some way of putting Harry down again when we're not watching," he whispered at them as they shied away from that ravaged visage now looming over them. "Think again. That lady that's become Harry's new teacher is seen by us as a_ **million times worse** _than Voldemort's EVER been! Back in World War Two, she totally_ **destroyed** _all the colonial magical ministries in Asia, from India to Indonesia and everywhere in-between. She helped_ **bring down** _the International Confederation of Wizards; that was our version of the League of Nations until 1946. And while many of the fools in this country still hate her for doing that, the rest of the world sees her as one of the greatest freedom fighters ever to live! There's no way in hell that the Ministry OR Dumbledore will come to your rescue in case Harry wants a reckoning…which he'd be entitled to. Remember that, Dursley."_

Hermione had, by then, come up to join them. "The fact that Harry turned out so well despite you two and that drunken monster you call a sister, Dursley, amazes me. I'm glad that Tsukuyomi-sama has come to finally straighten things around. And I hope to heaven that bulldog-loving bitch _comes to your house!" As Vernon sputtered — though he was quick to see Dan Granger, who was a former British Army officer who had served in the Royal Army Dental Corps and still looked it, glaring at him to try to do something to his little girl — the normal-born of the Golden Trio turned away. "I heard Tsukuyomi-sama has a thing for_ dog stew _!"_

With a gay laugh, she headed off to rejoin her parents as Vernon and Petunia exchanged horrified looks and Dudley found himself trying not to laugh. 

Much that he did care for Aunt Marge, he HATED the damned dogs…! 

* * *

"What's so funny, Teddy?" 

Ted gasped on hearing that voice, and then he flustered. "Sorry, Maggie…" 

"It's cool," Margaret O'Neill-Carter ( _née_ Dursley) said from her own bedroom at 5 Privet Drive in Little Whinging. A beautiful girl who inherited her father's raven hair and brown eyes, she no longer had the haunted look in those orbs indicative of the abuse she had received at the hands of her grandparents for a period of about a half-year…until one of Arabella Figg's kneazles, Tufty, had taken notice and then wandered into a house inhabited by two "strange humans with a lava scent." There, he came into contact with Private Lucy O'Neill of the 3rd Battalion, the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment — now serving as an acting corporal in the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) — and her bond-mate Shelley Carter, who was then an officer in the Surrey team of the Special Protected Persons Bureau of the Home Office and now served as Elder Mother of all Avalonian-Britons living in Surrey. On mind-melding with Tufty, Lucy and Shelley learned Maggie was a "witch kitten," then reported same to Arabella…who immediately called in Harry Potter. 

In the wake of that, Maggie was adopted by Lucy and Shelley as their child with Dudley's blessings; he was currently serving the second year of rehab at Her Majesty's Prison Ford near Arundel for his drug addiction and probably wouldn't be paroled for a few years to come. Vernon and Petunia, however, were serving what Americans called "hard time" for their abuse of Maggie — and their nephew as well from 1981 to 1996 thanks to the secret intervention of Gringotts — with the former now held at H.M. Prison High Down near Banstead…and the latter at H.M. Prison Bronzefield near Ashford. 

"I was just remembering what Harry showed me of his memories of the time Tsukiko-sensei took him on as his apprentice and she threatened your grandparents," Ted added. 

Maggie giggled on hearing that. While she was still too young to really understand why her grandparents had done that to her — after all, they had fully supported her father when he elected to raise her on his own after her mother died — she had the resiliency of youth, two loving foster parents and the discovery of magic to boost her along. Even better, her "Uncle Harry" arranged for a truly cool friend named Charlotte Crabbe to start teaching her magic in the Meridiana style, using training wands and the very wordy style that went into spell-casting. And best of all, Maggie didn't have to worry about some silly underage magic restriction; Meridiana-type wands weren't tracked by the Ministry of Magic in London. Though, to teach her responsibility when it came to using magic, "Aunt Charlotte" had given her student a special hypnotic suggestion to make sure she didn't show off her powers around normals unless it was an emergency. When he learned how Charlotte trained magicals and STILL made sure the Statute was obeyed, Ted wished they would do something like that for Hogwarts students as well. 

Even if he could get away with it living in a magical home, all the normal-borns in his classes weren't so blessed…and that wouldn't change anytime soon, it seemed. 

"So what's happening about your mom's aunt? Have they found her yet?" Maggie asked. 

A shake of the head. "Nah! Can't believe she 'ported out of St. Mungo's…!" 

_KK-KRACK!_

Ted yelped in shock before he spun around…and then he watched morbidly as a woman in the dark red robe-like gown of a patient at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, who had just somehow APPEARED by his locked door, staggered for a second, then toppled face-first into the floor. Silence then fell as Ted gazed down at her — he was quick to spot the greying-black hair on her head — and then he turned to gaze wide-eyed at Maggie. "Who was that?!" the younger girl then asked. 

Ted blinked before he sighed. "Winky!" 

_Pop!_ "Master Teddy! What…OH, MY!" a certain house elf gasped on seeing the unconscious woman on the floor of her youngest charge's bedroom. "What is Mistress Bella doing here?! Mistress Bella is sick! She should be in hospital!" 

As Winky immediately moved to levitate Bellatrix Lestrange — who looked much older than her current fifty-nine years of age…which made her physically in her mid-thirties by normal standards — onto Ted's bed, the young metamorphmagus got off her chair to stand close to his maternal grandaunt. At her home in Surrey, Maggie activated her dataPADD's holo-projection system, which was modelled after the like communications system from _Star Wars_ , thus allowing her to literally watch what was going on in her favourite cousin's bedroom. "Wow! She looks really out of it!" she noted. 

Winky nodded. "Yes, Mistress Maggie! Mistress Bella's magic is very weak!" She then waved her hand over Bellatrix's still face…and then she gasped. "The Earth Angel…!" she whispered in awed fright. "The Earth Angel did this to her…!" 

Ted's jaw dropped. "The soulsword!" he gasped. "Miss Negako used a soulsword to make Mummy wake up from her coma! She did the same thing to Uncle Neville's parents, too!" 

"Soulsword backlash." 

Ted looked…and then he grinned. "Hey, Aunt Shelley!" 

Shelley Carter was now standing behind her daughter, warmly hugging Maggie as she leaned her chin on the younger girl's head. A beautiful woman appearing to be in her early twenties, the Terran-form Avalonian-Briton had been an administrative assistant on one of the villages on Phentax Twelve before the Liberation. Possessing wavy raven hair to her mid-back and eyes the shade of chocolate, she had helped process the refugee applications of nearly a quarter-million sisters who had elected to live in Surrey during the early weeks of March this year. These days, she — atop doing the traditional duties of Elder Mother — was a junior administrator for the Home Office working for the Borough of Runnymede, where Little Whinging was located. Today was her day off from work. "Hi, Ted! So what's your grandaunt doing in your bedroom?" 

"She escaped from St. Mungo's after Miss Negako helped Mummy and Uncle Neville's parents wake up," Ted stated. "Everyone couldn't believe it; you can't apparate out of St. Mungo's…just like you can't do it out of Hogwarts! But why…" 

"This was Mistress Bella's bedroom when she was a child and stayed with her cousins, Master Teddy," Winky stated. "Winky remembers old Kreacher telling her that." 

Ted hummed…and then he reached over to open one of Bellatrix's eyes. Gazing into that dull hazel orb, he then shook his head. "The lights are on…but no one's home," he whispered as he closed the eyelid. "Well, better call Uncle Harry…" 

"Teddy, wait!" Shelley called out. "I don't think there's much that St. Mungo's can do for a soulsword victim. Let me get her brought over to one of our healers. Even if she was guilty of terrorism and other crimes, she still has the right to live." 

Ted gazed at Maggie's adopted mother, and then he nodded… 

* * *

The borough of Runnymede in Surrey, 5 Privet Drive in Little Whinging (northwest of the M3/M25 interchange near Longside Lake), ten minutes later… 

"I still think materialisers are AWESOME!" Ted breathed out. 

Winky nodded. "Yes! They move people better than even house elves can!" 

Amused chuckles escaped the three adult women — all Avalonian-Britons, of course — in the living room of the O'Neill-Carter residence. Now examining the unmoving Bellatrix was Ellen Bonham, the local healer — she was a qualified paramedic and was performing duties at a local hospital to be accredited as a registered nurse — for the Avalonians living in Runnymede. Her fingers were now pressing into the dazed woman's face as she sent mind-probes into Bellatrix. Watching this were Shelley Carter and Lucy O'Neill. "How bad?" the red-haired, green-eyed part-time infantry soldier quietly asked. 

"Her _mei'na_ is horribly fractured," Ellen — a wavy-haired brunette with soft golden-brown eyes — answered. "Possibly a case of multiple-personality disorder. When she was hit with the backlash of whatever Thoughtmistress-prime Negako did to whoever she was magically linked to, it destroyed some elements of her personality…" 

"Which is what a soulsword can do," Lucy mused. "If the Thoughtmistress-prime was here to help Ted's mum and the parents of Harry's friend get up, why didn't people ask for her to stick around to help find this woman when she fled the hospital?" 

"Magical blindness when it comes to getting non-magical help," Shelley noted as she squeezed her lover's shoulder. "Remember what Charlotte told us about how people like her parents are always willing to dismiss anything normals do?" 

"Until _Hood_ came along," Lucy noted. 

The others in the room snickered, even Ted and Maggie; they were seated on one of the chairs across from the sofa where Bellatrix was now laid out. Winky was standing by the coffee table, staring intently at the unconscious witch and ready to do anything to defend her younger charges and the wonderful Space Angels from harm. Also present was Tufty, who had been adopted by Lucy and Shelley; he was now on the coffee table gazing intently at the unconscious witch that was taking the other people's attention. Finally, Ellen took a deep breath as she pulled her hand away. "I'm authorizing a body-swap." 

The others gazed on her. "Would she still be a danger?" Shelley asked. 

"Even if she is a danger in the future, given what I've seen of her so far — the combination of all the magical oaths, tortures and everything else she's been subjected to, PLUS her being struck down by Molly Weasley and Grace Longbottom like she was back in '97 AND having parts of her mind destroyed by a soulsword backlash — I have no right to deny her a chance to live a NORMAL life if it's in my power to save her, Shelley," Ellen answered. "Yes, there are still the memories of the people she's killed and tortured over the years in there. Yes, they'll transfer over into a new body. But thanks to what Thoughtmistress-prime Negako inadvertently did to her some nights ago, there's next to no emotional connection to those memories." A smirk. "No different at all…" 

"Than what Harry asked you to do for Project V," Shelley finished for the healer. 

"Right." 

"'Project V?'" Ted asked. 

Winky shushed him. "Don't ask, Master Teddy! It's a secret!" 

He jerked as Maggie snickered… 

* * *

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on the north shore of Loch Eigheach west of Kinloch Rannoch in the Council Area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, before lunch… 

" _Examinamus! Examinamus! Examinamus! Examinamus…!_ " 

As the two mini-Rose Potters with cherub's wings floated around the head of Ginny Weasley, Harry's sister was busy tapping things on the scrying pentagram now floating before the youngest Weasley child's face. Ginny's new wife and her mother were standing behind her, staying clear of the examination spirits Rose forged with her magic to examine the newest magically-powered Terran-turned-Avalonian to have awoken on Earth; Rose had visited her sisters-in-law and Dora Lupin at Grimmauld Place late on Sunday evening to look them over. Watching this from nearby was Poppy Pomfrey and Rose's own teacher in the ways of magical healing Nerio-style, Master Healer Elaine Buckshire of Ariadne. Also present was Rose's classmate from magical health services school in the famous independent academic city on the _Mundus Magicus_ — and the wife/bond-mate of one of Negi Springfield's former English students at Mahora, Ayase Yūe — Collette Farandole. Watching the reborn spirit of one of the unborn babies that would have been denied life thanks to the First Purification War, Frank and Alice Longbottom found themselves turning to stare from time to time at the visiting therianthropes from Nerio, their eyes locking in on Elaine's mountain goat-like ram horns mounted on the side of her head and the sheep-like tapered ears…not to mention and Collette's long dog-like ears and wagging tail. Noting this from nearby, Neville Longbottom sighed. "Mum! Dad!" he hissed at them. "It's rude to stare at them like that, for Merlin's sake!" 

His parents jerked on hearing that, and then flustered as Collette and Elaine both smirked. "I am sorry about that, Elaine," Poppy then said. "After all…" 

"Studies of our world were not permitted when your 'ministry of morons' still had influence on the school's academic curriculum," Elaine finished as her soft gold eyes twinkled with mirth. "Don't worry about it, Poppy. At least the young lambs you're looking after here now are learning the truth. Maybe one day, you can arrange for class trips to Ariadne and allow the same to come from there here to Hogwarts." 

"The stalebloods in the Ministry wouldn't allow that, Elaine," Rose warned. 

"Not yet, of course," Neville noted. 

"Oh? What have you heard?" Molly Weasley asked. 

"Kingsley warned me that 'Mione and Daphne are on a crusade to see if the Treaty of Ynys Môn can be renegotiated," the current Marquess of Holdenhurst — due to Frank being in St. Mungo's with no sign of recovery at the time Neville achieved adulthood, the older man had been passed over and could not reclaim the seat from his son — explained. "I think it can, but it wouldn't really need any changes to the Treaty. It's all the stupid laws the Wizengamot passed after the Treaty that need to be looked at." 

"What about the preference of Meridiana students wanting to seek out muggles to form pactios with?" Alice asked. "They've done that for years without any controls…" 

"Mum, there ARE controls!" Neville cut her off. "You wouldn't see mages from Meridiana making pactios willy-nilly with every normal that passes them by." He ignored Collette's smirk on saying that; he knew the story of how many pactios Negi Springfield had made — including the one to Collette's wife — when he was but a child at the turn of the millennium and forced to deal with all sorts of magical incidents at the Mahora Academy. "Besides, pactios are normally forged with people who have great magical potential even if it didn't properly awaken to see them invited to here or Meridiana." To Collette. "Healer Farandole, did your wife undergo the Neuwied Test?" 

"She did," Collette stated as her pale green eyes sparkled with delight. "It was administered in secret just when Master Springfield was assigned as her homeroom teacher at Mahora in 2002 after graduating from basic magical training at Meridiana. "The first test gave Yūe a score of 133 points…but unlike those who would attend this school, she didn't have the proper genetic trigger to learn magic. Only when she started interacting with Master Springfield and was exposed to his own magical aura did that trigger come and allow her to become a mage in her own right. Her last Neuwied Test gave her a score of 306 points." A smirk. "Of course, that was after she was made an Avalonian herself thanks to the Lady Negako two months ago when she went to Mahora to obtain her beloved's body from storage and free Evangeline McDowell from her vampiric illnesses and her being stuck physically as a ten year-old child for so long." 

The older Longbottoms cringed on hearing the birth name of the infamous _Maga Nosferatu_ , a dark lady seen to be as evil as Voldemort and Tsukuyomi in the eyes of most European magicals of any stripe. "Why would the Earth Angel do that?!" Frank asked. 

"Dad, do you think the Lady Evangeline liked the idea of being turned into a day-walker vampire and be frozen at TEN YEARS OF AGE all those centuries ago?!" Neville demanded. 

Frank jolted, and then he flustered. "W-well…" 

"And I thought I had it bad," Ginny whispered. 

"Stay quiet, Ginny," Rose advised. 

The youngest Weasley clammed up. Finally, the two mini-Roses stopped as they produced a magical parchment titled _**Reportata**_. " _Nothing wrong!_ " both of them chanted. 

Rose sighed as she dispersed the pentagram and the mini-Roses that personified her special magical probe spells. "Well, your magic is fully meshed in with your new body," Harry's sister said with a smile. "If you were like me during the whole thing with the Chamber of Secrets, that soul-fragment of the Dark Dunderhead wouldn't have been able to possess you from that diary Raven's father slipped into your carryall bag in Diagon before your first year started. And you certainly…" 

"Might have landed your brother — or you in _marei'cha_ when we first met in the Department of Mysteries — as my soul-mate," Ginny finished with a grin, and then she leaned back to allow Nell to embrace her from behind. "It still hurts a bit…but I now have a wife who loves me and I love in turn, so I can get over it, Rose. Please, it's alright." 

"Would you still desire to request Big Brother to sire any children?" Rose asked. 

Ginny gaped as Molly's, Alice's and Frank's jaws dropped in shock. "I would, Healer Potter," the youngest Weasley stated formally as she pulled away from Nell to focus her attention on Harry's sister. "But given that your wonderful brother — whom I still feel I owe a Life Debt to because of the incident in the Chamber of Secrets — is married and must father children with his beloved wives, I can wait." 

"So be it then," Rose said with a nod. "I am authorized by my brother to state that he feels it wise that both you and your wife should wait until after your wife's transfer off Her Majesty's Starship _Hood_ at the end of her first post-training posting aboard that vessel before offering himself as the sire of any future children for you." 

A nod. "I can agree to that. Nell-vayae?" 

"It is logical and rational," Nell stated. "It is agreed, Potter-i'sagh." 

Rose nodded. "So be it, then." 

"Is that legal?!" 

Neville sighed. "Dad, Rose is part of Harry's family and is seen as his heir apparent to the headship of his family even if she can't — at this time — take up the family seat in the Wizengamot," he stated. "The only real restrictions when it comes to any sort of commerce between a Meridiana alumnus like Rose — or Grace! — and anyone in our society is the fact that Rose can't take control of anything that is controlled or influenced by the Ministry of Magic. That's why she can't have a Gringotts vault and has to bank with the Bank of Ariadne at their branch near Meridiana. Ditto with Grace and the other girls Master Holmes saved all those years ago. What just happened here was an arrangement between members of two magical families. The laws concerning requesting to sire predate the Ministry, so it's alright for Rose to negotiate that on Harry's behalf. Grace has my permission to do that for me." A shake of the head. "My God! Was THAT the type of society you were trying to save back in the 1970s?!" 

The older Longbottoms winced on hearing that from their son, and then they warily watched as Neville walked out of the hospital wing. Watching her old friends from the Order of the Phoenix, Molly sighed. "It was hard for us to adjust to all the changes, too," she said as she walked over to join Frank and Alice. "It's for the best, you know. As long as the old structures and the old beliefs are still allowed to have life, we'll be dealing with another dark lord in a few decades. I don't want that and my children certainly don't want it either. That's why they think as they do now." 

Alice sighed. "It's been hard, Molly," she admitted. "Yes, we were just overjoyed to know our girl was given life even after Bella and her family struck us down…" A shake of the head. "But to see her go to Meridiana…and then be trained by HER?!" 

"What's wrong with Mistress Tsukuyomi?" 

Eyes locked on Collette. "Healer Farandole, you don't know what she did!" Frank said. 

"I DO know what Mistress Tsukuyomi did!" the canine therianthrope — to call someone like her a "beast-girl" was seen as insulting to someone like Collette as being called "mudblood" was to Hermione Granger — from Ariadne stated. "I don't think YOU know what your Ministry's colonial branches did in places like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia or Singapore…to say anything of what the French and the Dutch did elsewhere across southeast Asia. Thank the Fates that the Americans were willing to allow the native Filipinos the right to practice their own magic, as did the Japanese for the Koreans and the Taiwanese in the first half of the last century!" A shake of the head. "It's because of that 'I know better' attitude that Voldemort came into being, not to mention Grindelwald and every other dark lord your society has created over the centuries. I'm not saying we're any better on Nerio, but at least we try to improve ourselves every chance we get. You haven't done that for years…" 

"Makes me wonder if the Statute of Secrecy was any good in the long term." 

"Amen to that," Collette stated as she smiled at Rose. 

Alice and Frank just _stared_ at them as Molly shook her head… 

* * *

International Space Factory Station Europa (in geostationary orbit 35,786 kilometres above the Equator at the meridian of Luxembourg City), that moment (central European summer time: lunchtime)… 

"I came as soon as you called me." 

Shelley and Lucy smiled as both moved to embrace Harry, and then he knelt down to draw his cousin into his arms; Ted had been returned to Grimmauld Place by Winky. "We're having the body for Cassiopeia's mother prepared right now," Shelley stated as they walked into one of the gestation chambers in this former Niphentaxian factory satellite that had been claimed by the Avalonians in February as "war booty" and transported to Earth. These days, the European Union — through the European Space Agency — administered ISFS Europa as one of three close-orbital and six lunar-orbital stations for the manufacture of equipment for the governments of the various member-nations. The Avalonians, of course, also set up gestation units and storage areas for non-templated bioroid bodies on Europa to serve as a safe and quick place to allow body-swaps to occur; despite the very low number of potential xenophobes in Europe who might want to hurt the "angels of the stars," the recent incident with U.S.S. _Arizona_ graphically illustrated what could happen if some idiot managed to get through all the defences to cause damage or casualties. 

"What did Ellen say about Bellatrix's mental state?" Harry asked. 

A sigh. "She's really messed up in her head, Harry…and has been for decades," Lucy stated. "Thoughtmistress-prime Negako managed to burn most of it away by proxy when she helped restore Dora and Neville's parents, but the memories of what she did while serving under Thoughtmaster-prime Riddle will still be there. Very little in the way of emotional content with those memories, which means…" 

He breathed out. "She won't feel any guilt over all the damage she caused." 

A nod. "Yes. While she could now be reformed — with the right sort of family support, of course — if she's confronted by any of her past victims…" 

Harry nodded. Much that many people in wizarding Britain — Neville and his parents being three of them — would howl for Bellatrix's head on a silver platter to see her answer for her crimes as a Death Eater, Ellen Bonham was bound by her healer's oaths to do all to preserve the woman's life since she had been critically wounded at the Battle of Hogwarts by Molly Weasley and Grace Longbottom. That had gone down just as Rose Potter and Neville had killed Nagini with a combination of a soulsword from Harry's sister — she had learned that deadly technique from Yomigawa Tsukiko after her graduation from Meridiana — and a magical katana loaned by Grace to her brother. After that, Harry used a version of the Spirit-Breaker Fire-Light attack from Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū to sever all links between Voldemort and his last horcrux in the Lestrange vault in Gringotts before using the soulsword to destroy the magical body created for him at the end of the Triwizard Tournament in 1995. And while Harry himself often believed that Bellatrix's final removal from this life would do so much good, he had rules to obey; any wizard and witch accused of crimes that had been injured had to be healed before facing justice. 

To short-circuit THAT would be the first step in returning everything back to the bad old days that had ultimately killed Sirius Black. 

That couldn't be allowed under any circumstances. 

"How soon will she be awake and can be questioned?" he wondered. 

A sigh. "About another half-hour," Lucy advised. 

"Okay. It'll give me time to make some calls." 

With that, he headed off… 

* * *

A half-hour later… 

"Where am I…?" 

"Ah! You're awake!" 

The newly-created bioroid blinked in confusion before sitting up, and then she turned to gaze on a pretty girl dressed in clothes the muggle version of a mediwitch would wear, a white knee-length tunic slung on her shoulders. "Who are you?" Bellatrix Lestrange asked. 

"I'm Ellen Bonham," the newcomer introduced herself. "I'm an apprentice nurse working at Ashford Hospital in Surrey, just outside London. I was called in by friends of your grandnephew Ted Lupin after you teleported yourself into your old bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place in Islington in the wake of you fleeing from St. Mungo's Hospital after nearly being killed thanks to three cases of soulsword backlash you suffered on Friday and Saturday. Today is Tuesday the thirteenth of July in 2010, Mrs. Lestrange." 

Bellatrix took a moment to absorb that. "You're a mediwitch?" 

"I'm a metahuman by your standards," Ellen answered. 

She considered that for a few seconds. While the number of non-magical metahumans was not known — and the Ministry of Magic always refused to go look for such people as such was beyond its purview — the Death Eaters always feared confronting someone like that. "Why are you interested in me? To say anything of Nymphadora's son?" 

Ellen sighed. "Like the victims of your interesting living-death curse, you've missed a lot in the last thirteen years, Mrs. Lestrange. Let me show you what I mean…" 

Her fingers then touched the side of Bellatrix's face… 

* * *

Minutes later… 

"I'm not sure how I'm going to break this to Dad and Mum, Harry." 

"Are you saying Ellen should have let her die?" 

A shake of the head. "Hell, no!" Neville stated; he had just beamed aboard Europa from Hogwarts after Harry called him on his cell phone…which had been developed by a Korean-Briton housemate of theirs from their year at Hogwarts, Mun Aesup, the woman who had become Britain's first true technomage after studying in America in the wake of her graduating from Hogwarts in 1998. "Her oaths aren't magically binding, but Grace told me what Avalonian healers have to go through to serve as such. Ellen would have had to do everything to save Bellatrix. As much as Poppy or Rose would." 

A smirk. "How are your parents reacting to Grace?" 

A sigh. "It's a see-saw, Harry," Neville admitted. "On the one hand, they're happy as all heck that their daughter is alive; Mum told Dad she was pregnant just before the Lestranges and Barty Crouch attacked the house." A shake of the head. "But Grace went to Meridiana and was trained by Tsukiko-sensei. And that just won't do!" 

Harry groaned. "Idiots…" 

"Harry?" 

Both men turned as Ellen came up. The healer was quick to note the presence of Harry's former housemate. "How is she?" the Man-Who-Won then asked as both stood. 

"She's in a bit of a state of shock right now," Ellen stated with a smirk. 

"Oh, Merlin!" Neville moaned. "Wake up and find out you're an _**alien**_ of all things!" 

"Yeah, that would hit hard, wouldn't it?" Harry stated. "Can we see her?" 

Ellen gazed with concern at Neville. The Marquess of Holdenhurst took a deep breath. "I have to confront it sooner or later," he confessed. "Shall we, Harry?" 

Harry nodded. Both men walked out of the lounge to the recovery room where Bellatrix had been taken after her body-swap. Stepping inside, they were quick to note the older woman cowering in her bed, shivering with fright as she seemed to want to do everything to make herself as small as possible. Noting that, Harry sighed. According to Ted, Dora had acted the same way at first after awakening in her new body Friday evening aboard _Hood_. "It's alright, Mrs. Lestrange," he then said, making her head snap over to stare wide-eyed at the man who had defeated and destroyed her master. "You're not the only witch who's undergone this sort of thing. It comes with the territory." 

She blinked as a faint hint of outrage came up from somewhere in her heart…before that faded into confusion. Wasn't she supposed to hate these people for fighting against her master? Why couldn't she hate them? "Potter. Longbottom." 

"How are you?" Harry wondered as they moved to sit in chairs close to the bed she was now reclined on. "Have you had something to eat yet?" 

She sighed. "They're getting some sort of fruit milkshake for me to have. I can't have solid foods for two days because this…" A shudder. "I'm an _alien_ …?!" 

"No. You're still human, Mrs. Lestrange." A pause, and then Neville added, "Right now, you're no different than Harry's sister Rose or my sister Grace." He then lightly smirked. "To say anything of your own daughter Cassiopeia." 

Bellatrix gazed at him. "Impossible!" 

"Her soul was saved by the Curse of Hufflepuff," Neville explained. "I didn't believe it at first when we met Rose in the Hall of Prophecy that night, but after I had a chance to meet Grace — she was performing temple maiden duties at the shrine where the Lady Tsukuyomi lives these days in Japan at the time we fought in the Department of Mysteries — and mind-meld with her, I learned the Curse of Hufflepuff is real. And that it saved the lives of many unborn magical children Voldemort and his people — including you — guaranteed would never see life through natural means." 

She took a moment to absorb that, and then she breathed out. "Who did it?" 

"An observer — an explorer — from a planet named Phentax Two; it's fifty light-years from Earth, orbiting the upper star of that three-star system in Cancer the Astronomy professors loved to make us look at when we were at Hogwarts taking classes." As Bellatrix smirked on remembering that, Harry sighed. "There is a humanoid race that lives on that world. Incredible imitative but denied the ability to create their own distinct culture. They discovered Earth years ago and were just fascinated by it. Steve Holmes — that was the observer's Earth alias; his native name is a mystery — was one of many observers sent here to watch over us. Along the way, he brought a hundred non-templated bioroid bodies — they're known as 'Avalonians' as a people — to have with him in case he needed deep cover agents to help him in his observations. One became his daughter Alice. She was the one who found your unborn daughter's spirit drifting near your family home in London sometime in 1983. The spirit was captured and — with a quick scan of yours and your husband's genetic structure — a bioroid body was created to house that spirit." 

"Cassiopeia," she whispered. 

"Yes. Alice Holmes was able to communicate with one of your old house elves to learn that was a name you wanted to give your daughter before she 'died.'" 

Bellatrix considered that, and then she closed her eyes. "It's not there." 

"We know," Neville breathed out. "That's what made it so easy for Cass to hurt you like she did when we fought over the prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort. She's an empath. She couldn't sense any motherly love from you. All she sensed of you was the being all the things Healer Bonham discovered when she examined you earlier today made you become over the years since you started attending Hogwarts in 1962." 

"A monster." 

A nod. "Yes." 

The Dowager Viscountess of Barnet — Rabastan was killed by Cassiopeia in the Department of Mysteries during the fighting in the Death Chamber; Rodolphus would die at the Battle of Hogwarts a year later thanks to Pansy Parkinson in vengeance over what he had done to her parents earlier that summer — seemed to deflate into a melancholy acceptance. There was no avoiding asking this now: "Are you here to arrest me?" 

"In a short while," Harry admitted. 

She gazed at the Man-Who-Won, and then she smirked. "Why the hell weren't you a Slytherin, Harry?" she demanded. "You sure as hell are acting like one now." 

Neville laughed on hearing that. "The Hat actually wanted to put me there, Aunt Bella," Harry admitted, making her blush on hearing him call her that. "But I had been told by Hagrid and Ron Weasley beforehand about how 'evil' Slytherin was…and I also had the profound displeasure of running across your nephew Draco Malfoy a couple times before the Sorting ceremony." As she nodded, he added, "I rather wish I did take up that offer to become a Slytherin. These days, I have many friends from that house, both from my year and younger years. One of my wives — Pansy Parkinson — was one." 

She perked. "Malcolm's and Gruoch's daughter?" 

A nod. "The same. She had to become an Avalonian, too. Many years ago, Uncle Malcolm and my father negotiated a marriage contract between us. Since I was never warned ahead of time before I renounced it, Pansy wound up a squib until Friday…when the Earth Angel arranged for her and my other wife, Mandy Brocklehurst of Ravenclaw, to become Avalonians. Right after your niece Dora became one. And Lady Negako…" 

"The soulsword. I know." A sigh. "By the way…thank you." 

Harry perked. "For what?" 

"Killing the Carrows," Bellatrix admitted. "Much that I — when I was able to think straight — loathed the man she chose to marry, I didn't want Andromeda to die." 

"Would you have arranged a fatal accident to happen to them?" Neville wondered. 

A smirk. "Eventually!" 

Neville nodded in acceptance of that, which made Bellatrix gaze at him for a moment before she turned back to Harry. "So what do you have in mind?" 

He sighed. "Aunt Bella, do you remember in the Department of Mysteries? Just after Albus arrived and Raven made her father kill Dolohov?" 

Her eyes went wide… 

* * *

_Level Nine of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, Tuesday 18 June 1996, a half-hour before sunset…_

"Why are you here, Tsukiko?" Albus Dumbledore demanded as many of the members of the Order of the Phoenix took fearful steps back from the walking nightmare in white-and-red who was now in their midst…and clearly interested in Harry Potter and his friends given what her young apprentices had done to the Death Eaters. "You…!" 

" **COWARDS! __**"

Eyes locked on the shivering man who was now standing up from the floor, his hand still grasping that of his sister's. "Harry…!" Hermione Granger gasped. 

Looking around, the Boy-Who-Lived glared at the people who had come to this place to intercept the Death Eaters…and then he spat out onto the floor. "You damned cowards!" he hissed out. "Where in the name of God were _you people while we were here busy fighting these staleblood, inbred morons and trying to save that stupid prophecy you've been guarding for the last YEAR, huh?!" As people gaped in shock at him — though Alastor Moody was nodding in approval — Harry shook his head. "I wish to hell that I had never accepted that invitation to go to Hogwarts in the first place!" As many of the people hearing this all gasped in horror, he hissed out, "If you people are supposedly the BEST that a Hogwarts education can offer, why the HELL were ladies like my SISTER ready to help us defeat these idiots?!" He waved to the fallen Death Eaters nearby. "Is it because you're all jealous of the fact that people from_ Meridiana _are better magicals THAN ALL OF YOU?! HUH?!" He then glared at Albus, his eyes flashing as all the rage and anger he had felt deep in his heart for years finally came roaring to the surface. "Don't bother with the Prophecy anymore,_ Mister _Dumbledore! I already know its contents! Thanks to your constant refusal to tell me things, my godfather is now_ dead _!" He pointed at the Veil before sneering. "I refuse to be a sacrifice anymore for a backward and worthless society like this!"_

As people croaked out on hearing THAT, the ghostly sound of someone clapping his hands echoed from the main hallway. "Well done, Harry! Well done…!" 

Harry blinked, and then he advanced for the main door. Albus moved to intercept him, but found himself blocked by Yomigawa Tsukiko's arm. As Rose followed him out of the Death Chamber into the main hall, they gazed towards the pale, bald figure in the dark robes at one end of the room, close to the main exit. "Tom," Harry called out. 

Voldemort smirked, though he didn't rise to the bait the Boy-Who-Lived made by calling him by birth-name. "So you finally figured it out, didn't you?" the Dark Lord mused as he crossed his arms. "Amazing that it actually required the intrusion of a dark lord even **I** _would be frightened of to finally let the truth out!" With that, he rose to bow respectfully as Tsukiko emerged from the Death Chamber. "Lady Tsukuyomi! Welcome back to Great Britain! I trust my followers were properly respectful of you!"_

"They weren't truly respectful, Voldemort-dono," the Dark Lady of the Orient stated as she gazed in amusement at him. "Still, even if your fight with Harry-kun doesn't really concern me, the patience of the International Conference of Magical Communities in concerns with your society's inability to evolve has come to a final end." She then smirked on hearing rushed footsteps from the upper gallery behind her. "Good evening, Minister Fudge," she called out as she gazed at a wide-eyed man now gaping in horror at the presence of not ONE but TWO dark lords in the bowels of the headquarters complex of the ministry he led. "As you can see, my new apprentice was not lying last year." 

"NO!" 

As Cornelius Fudge sputtered in horror on seeing both Voldemort AND Tsukuyomi in the main hall of the Department of Mysteries, Tsukiko turned to gaze on Albus. "You are no longer Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus," she warned. "Even more so, since you are no longer headmaster, you cannot be Harry-kun's in loco parentis _legal guardian. And after he goes to Gringotts to claim his inheritance from the House of Potter AND the House of_ Black _, he will be magically_ emancipated _. Since he has done your basic magical tests, he can withdraw from Hogwarts once and for all time. Which he is ready to do!"_

Albus shuddered as he levelled his wand at her… 

…and then screamed out as a blazing blade of energy ripped through the wand, causing it to explode in his hand. As he staggered back and gripped his bleeding hand, the others in the Order save Moody scrambled back, many of them pale in horror at the thought of facing the Dark Lady of the Orient…who was clearly in full battle trim and ready for a brawl. As Albus stared at Tsukiko, she shook her head. "«The Deathly Hallows are no more, Albus-kun,»" she whispered in Japanese, which she knew he fluently understood. "«Be thankful that I was willing to do at least that _for you!»"_

"ARREST HER!" Fudge screamed out. 

"STUPEFY! _"_

Heads snapped over as jaws dropped in disbelief. "Percy?!" Arthur Weasley gasped. 

Lowering his wand, Percy Weasley sighed before nodding at Harry, and then he smiled on seeing Rose beside him. Noting that — and sensing Bellatrix slip out of the Death Chamber as she moved to get close to Voldemort so they could stand together against the forces arrayed against them — Tsukiko sighed as she allowed her soulsword to disperse. "«Rose. Remove that thing from your brother's forehead, if you don't mind,»" she then instructed in Japanese. 

"Hai!" Rose said before barking out, "ANIMAE GLADIUM! _"_

A blazing crusader sword of energy literally GREW out of the palm of her right hand, and then she dropped back from Harry as she swung it right at his forehead. " **HARRY! __**" Hermione screamed out as she moved to stun Rose…

…before a powerful burst of magic exploded from Harry's scar, making Voldemort scream in agony as he dropped to his knees. " **MY LORD! __**" Bellatrix cried out before she lunged towards him. As a half-dozen wands fired a whole storm of curses her way, she stabbed the hidden portkey in the Dark Lord's robes with her wand to make them both vanish from the Department of Mysteries seconds before she would have been struck down. The bolts of energy fired by Harry's friends and Moody simply wrecked the main doors leading into the lobby by the main elevators to the other parts of the Ministry complex.

On seeing that, Neville Longbottom snapped, " **SHIT!** _"_

"Don't worry, lad," Moody rumbled. "We were too distracted by whatever this kind lass just ripped out of Potter's forehead that hurt that bastard Voldemort so badly!" He then stomped over to gaze intently at the place where the most famous curse scar in British magical history had been with his magical eye. It was now a pale pink in shade, the skin healing. "Damn!" he breathed out before gazing on Rose. "Nice cut!" 

"Thank you, Uncle Alastor!" Harry's sister said with a grin. 

He perked. "'Uncle Alastor?!'" 

"She's Harry's long-lost sister, Professor Moody, um…" 

"Rose Potter," Harry's sister introduced herself with a bow of her head. 

Many of the people in the room nodded in return, surprised to learn that the Boy-Who-Lived actually had a SISTER. Luna Lovegood — who had moved to introduce Rose — then tucked her wand behind her left ear. "Saved by the Curse of Helga Hufflepuff, as were Tsukuyomi-sama's other apprentices with us this evening." As many of the members of the Order gaped in shock on hearing that, she pointed to the platinum blonde and her dark-haired companion standing by the doorway to the Death Chamber. "That's…" 

"Raven Malfoy," Draco's twin introduced herself. 

"I'm Cassiopeia Lestrange," Bellatrix's young look-alike then stated. 

"Where trained?" Percy asked after he came down from the gantry. 

"Meridiana," Tsukiko answered. 

The third-oldest Weasley perked on hearing that, and then he hummed. "I see…" 

"They should be arrested!" a voice snapped from above. 

"Dawlish, shut the hell up!" Percy snapped as he glared at John Dawlish, who had been serving as Fudge's bodyguard for most of the year. "All those who are the Lady Tsukuyomi's apprentices were granted full diplomatic immunity by the ICMC, as was the Lady Tsukuyomi herself! If you can't wake up to Reality, I'll have your badge!" 

As Dawlish croaked on hearing that threat, the members of Percy's family present at the time — his father, his three younger brothers Fred, George and Ron and younger sister Ginny — gaped in awe at the stern words spoken by the former Head Boy of Hogwarts from two years before. Percy sighed before gazing on the Dark Lady of the Orient, bowing his head respectfully at her. "May I humbly ask, Lady Tsukuyomi, what rank your apprentices hold at this time?" 

"They are all ranked as discipula magi, Percy-dono. All graduated from Meridiana a year ago before they were magically apprenticed to me. They would be the equal of those from Hogwarts who have passed their OWL examinations," Tsukiko stated. "As they are still British citizens and relatives of those your ministry serves as the magical government for, I will publicly release information on their being ranked as magistra magi to the International Conference." 

A nod. "I look forward to reading that one day," Percy said with a smirk before he gazed on Harry, who was now being comforted by Rose as he silently wept for the loss of a godfather he hardly knew…and now never would know. "What about Harry?" he whispered. 

"Harry-kun will make a choice once he is fully informed of his choices," she vowed as she turned to glance towards Albus, who was being tended to by Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones. "And he is allowed to become the master of his destiny." 

Percy looked…and then he smirked. "Fair enough." 

* * *

"A _horcrux_ …?!" 

Harry nodded. "Tom ultimately made seven of them," he explained. "His goal originally was six, plus his own soul. But when he tried to kill me in 1981, his soul was already so mangled, a fragment of him was lodged in my curse scar; he originally intended for that part of him to be placed inside Nagini. I don't think he ever realized that I was one of his soul-anchors." He pointed to his now-clear forehead in emphasis. "Some who've researched this think he may have made a possible eighth one when he possessed Quirinus Quirrell back in my first year, but others disagree." 

Bellatrix shuddered; as a daughter of the House of Black and married into the House of Lestrange, she knew about the blackest forms of the Dark Arts quite well. "He actually _**split his soul apart**_?!" she spat out before blinking. "The Cup…" 

"Yes. Your daughter can't claim it since she's a Meridiana graduate and cannot access the family vault in Gringotts. The goblins can't remove it since it would be breaking banker-client privilege even if a horcrux is a dark object and would not be normally allowed in the bank. Since it's clearly obvious you didn't know of this, they can't assess any penalty fees. If they did, they could be accused of breaking the clauses of various treaties, which they will not do. The only good news is that the Cup is intact and we can extract the soul fragment within it out without destroying it. As it is a Founder's Artifact, your holding it in safe keeping is a point in your favour." 

"We can't let the idea of horcruxi get out, though," Neville added. 

She nodded. "You'd be crazy to do that," she admitted. "Most dark families would NEVER deal in those things! Especially not go all the way to make SEVEN of them, for Merlin's sake!" A snort. "Master, you _**idiot**_ …what possessed you to do _**that**_?!" 

"That's why we need your help getting the Cup," Harry stated. "I don't intend to have the spirit of Voldemort vanish forever from this life, not without extracting every last bit of information about who his victims were and what he did in the years between his graduation from Hogwarts and his founding the Knights of Walpurgis." That group was the forerunner of the Death Eaters. "History demands no less, Aunt Bella." 

"You're going to make him like me?" she asked. 

A nod. "Yes. Because there was a subtle magical link between Voldemort and all his horcruxi, when Rose used a soulsword to get rid of the one in me — then did the same thing to Nagini in the fight at Hogwarts just before I destroyed Voldemort's body to finish it all off — whatever is in the Cup will be probably in the same mental shape you are." A sigh. "One thing Professor Dumbledore passionately believed in all those years since he fought his old lover in World War Two was in the hope that all could be redeemed if given a chance. Even if there were many things he did that hurt me from the day Tom tried to kill me in 1981, I know Albus did care for me and wanted me to survive what the prophecy ultimately forced on me." As Bellatrix gave him a surprised look, he smirked. "He believed Tom would have had to strike me down with a killing curse since he used my blood to give him a new body in '95 after the Triwizard. By striking me down, he not only would destroy the magical protection my mother's sacrifice gave me when she died — which he inherited in the ritual that gave him a new body years later — it also would destroy the horcrux inside my scar." 

"And not permanently kill Harry," Neville added. "Rose kind of short-circuited that." 

"And showed us another means by which to destroy the other horcruxi. One of which was actually discovered by Regulus Black before he died in '79 and had hidden in Grimmauld Place by Kreacher," Harry continued. As Bellatrix gasped on hearing _that_ about her favourite cousin, he smiled. "Destroying that was my first try with a soulsword." 

Hearing that, she hummed. "Damn…!" she breathed out. " _Four_ soulsword strikes?! I only thought you needed just _one_ to ultimately kill someone!" 

Both men then laughed before Harry sighed. "When this is all over with, you will be tried before the Wizengamot. I will personally — due to the mitigating circumstances because of what happened to you thanks in part to the Lady Negako — recommend exile from Britain for a hundred years." As she tensed, he winked. "I think sending you to Mahora in Japan — where you can apprentice under the Lady Evangeline — would be the right sort of thing for a well-experienced, combat-trained hitwitch like you." 

Watching her, Neville was quick to note that the look on Bellatrix's face on hearing Harry's proposal to have her meet _**Evangeline McDowell**_ of all people. To every young witch of the dark-aligned families in the British Isles, the _Maga Nosferatu_ was seen as the greatest magical heroine and role-model of all time, standing heads-and-shoulders above even Arthur Pendragon's half-sister Morgan le Fay. To learn she could become _**her**_ apprentice made Bellatrix look as if she was a little girl who had just discovered that Santa was real…and that she was on the list of those children who were _nice_. 

_Go figure!_ the Marquess of Holdenhurst mused to himself… 

* * *

The City of Westminster in London, near the Diagon Alley branch of the International Mercantile Bank of Gringotts, three hours later… 

" ** _OH, MY GOD! IT'S BELLATRIX LESTRANGE!_** " 

Gasps and screams of horror escaped many of the people in the Alley on seeing the infamous witch…which soon died on their noting who was now on either side of her, both holding one of her arms, their wands at the ready in their free hands. On noting that Voldemort's most dangerous fighter had been subdued by both Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, the cries of fright soon turned to cheers of joy. 

" ** _SILENCE!_** " 

Everyone froze in place on hearing that ear-splitting _Sonorus_ -enhanced shout from the Man-Who-Won. On looking his way, many cringed on seeing the annoyed look on his face. " ** _THERE WILL BE NO DEMONSTRATIONS! NO CHEERING!_** " he snarled out. " ** _THE DOWAGER LADY LESTRANGE SURRENDERED TO US HONOURABLY AND OF HER FREE WILL!_ IS — THAT — CLEAR _?!_** " 

People gasped on hearing that — realizing that Harry would NOT tolerate petty acts of vengeance against his prisoner; the director of the DMLE had won a hard reputation for fairness equal to that of Amelia Bones from over a decade before — and then many rapidly nodded their heads before they backed away and opened a path before the two wizards and their present captive. As they moved towards Gringotts, they were immediately joined by Fred and George Weasley, who had stepped out of their shop to act as additional bodyguards for Bellatrix. Reaching the steps of Gringotts, Harry let Bellatrix's arm go with a polite smile before bowing to the sentinels. "Good warriors, forgive this humble customer for mishandling a fellow customer before the walls of your noble establishment. She has surrendered to us honourably and wishes to conduct one last act of business within your noble establishment before she is taken into custody. On behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, I request under the clauses of the Treaty of 1779 that we be allowed to bring her within your noble establishment with drawn wands." 

Both guardians bowed politely. "Lord Potter, if you and your friends will wait for a minute, we will provide guards for your prisoner while you are within Gringotts," the one to Harry's left proposed. 

A bow in return. "It is agreed." 

The doors then snapped open as a sextet of goblin warriors marched out. "Lord Potter, Lord Longbottom, Master Weasley, Master Weasley," the guard commander said with a polite bow of his head. "We will ensure your prisoner remains safe while she conducts business within the walls of our establishment. You may sheathe your wands." 

"Thank you, good warrior," Harry said as he and his friends put their wands away. 

With that, two of the goblins gently took Bellatrix by the arms and walked her into the bank. The other guards fell in behind them as Harry and Neville exchanged nods of thanks with Fred and George before following. Once inside the bank, the goblins holding Bellatrix let her go, nodding politely at her. Smiling, she then made her way to the nearest open teller, drawing out her family vault key. "Vault 531, please." 

"Right away, Lady Lestrange," Griphook declared with a knowing smile… 

* * *

Minutes later… 

"I will say this about the body-sculpting capability of the bioroid factory," the chief director of Gringotts cackled. "It truly creates works of art." 

Harry and Neville laughed as Bellatrix blushed furiously at Ragnok's amused leer. The senior director for all goblins in Britain had been waiting for the three visiting human magicals in his office when Griphook had brought them there after Bellatrix retrieved the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff from her family vault. Said cup was now being analyzed by Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur Delacour-Weasley nearby. No one had touched it with bare skin; Bellatrix had handled it with meson-lined dragon-skin gloves due to her new psionic powers. Lying on a stretcher nearby was the end result of the Avalonian add-on to Project V: A beautiful woman appearing to be about twenty or so, with tanned skin and sunflower blonde hair that went to mid-back, possessing the looks of someone of mixed ancestry, currently held in magical stasis. Harry knew that this body for the being that now was trapped inside the Cup of Hufflepuff had been constructed with the same attention for metahuman potential as the replacement bodies for all the Steel Angels; that had been offered to him by the gestation technicians on Europa Station when he went to them sometime in early May to arrange for this body's creation. 

"The state of the sentience within the Cup, William?" Ragnok then asked. 

Bill sighed. On seeing the eldest son of Arthur and Molly, Bellatrix had been shocked to note that the scars on his left cheek — given to him by Fenrir Greyback during the fight at Hogwarts the night Albus Dumbledore was killed — were nothing more than faded dark lines on his fair skin. On being asked about that, he explained to her that a kind Avalonian healer had traced a small crystal of diamond meson over the scars…which absorbed the magical energy of the lycanthropic curse Greyback had tried to force on him. Though the marks would still be there for a long time to come — which Fleur still liked to have on her husband — he didn't suffer the several after-effects of being hurt by a werewolf these days, such as a lust for raw steaks. "It's alive and sentient, Chief Director," he stated as he gazed on his top boss. "All the life experiences of Voldemort — including the time period his horcruxi were separated from him up to the point of their destruction and the passing of their magical life energy to the Cup — are there. But emotionally, this thing is just like Aunt Bellatrix." He waved to the woman in question. "There would be no guilt or real feeling towards any of Voldemort's past victims, sir." A sigh. "Harry, what do you have in mind here?" 

"The Duchy of Kyme Eau," Harry stated. 

Silence. 

More silence. 

Still more silence. 

And then… 

"Oh, Harry! That's BRILLIANT!" Bill breathed out as Neville and Ragnok grinned. 

"I don't understand." 

Everyone gazed on a confused Fleur. "Love, the first Duke of Kyme Eau was _**Salazar Slytherin**_!" Bill stated. As Bellatrix gaped in shock at the eldest Weasley son, he added, "For all his faults, Voldemort was ALWAYS confirmed as Slytherin's last true heir through his mother's family. And THAT will — in a sense of the term — become Voldemort's DAUGHTER!" He pointed to the unmoving body nearby in emphasis. 

"You're trying to bring back the Houses of the FOUNDERS, Harry?!" Bellatrix demanded. 

"In a way, yes," Harry stated. "As Bill just said, for all of Tom's many faults, he WAS Master Salazar's last true heir. Some have said I would be Master Godric's last true heir…but others have said that about Neville here, too." He waved to Neville. "Part of Project V — which was started at Kingsley's direct order after I became Director of the DMLE five years ago — was to locate any true blood or magical heirs to the Founders. You know how people look on the Founders these days, Aunt Bella." At her nod, he added, "We've done this in private with the help of Gringotts…" — he waved to Ragnok, who smiled in return — "…as we didn't want to let the kneazle out of the bag until we chased down all the leads. Unfortunately, the other Founders' blood all died out around the time of the Reformation…although there are the chances of pure-magical heirs out there somewhere. Master Salazar's line was preserved thanks to the family of Tom's mother, Merope Gaunt. Yes, by the time she was born, the line was almost magically powerless due to inbreeding…but it was alive enough to allow the magical link from Master Salazar to be passed to Tom. Thanks to Tom being born of a muggle father, there was fresh blood free of genetic inbreeding to allow his magic to explode to full power. All that is THERE!" He pointed to the Cup. "And now, it will be passed on to Tom's daughter here." He pointed to the unmoving girl nearby. 

"But what can a Duke — or in this case, Duchess — of Kyme Eau do?" Fleur asked. 

"As the Queen — who also was let in on this — eventually plans for it to happen after a proper period of time to give Tom's daughter the chance to get used to being alive and well after all those years with a split soul and delving so much into dark magic, the Duchess of Kyme Eau will act as her governor general for wizarding Britain. In effect, she will be the _de facto_ head-of-state for the Ministry," Harry explained. "This will take some of the unnecessary ceremonial duties off Kingsley's back so he can concentrate on the day-to-day business of running the Ministry. Since this woman will be the magical heiress of Salazar Slytherin — once we let the 'discovery' of her go public — she'll be accepted by the dark families in the Wizengamot without question." 

"She could also forge a link to whichever heir or heiress of the first Magus of Meridiana — the Duke or Duchess of Anglesey as such a person would be known — is out there," Neville added. "That would be the spiritual reconnection between all those who were schooled at Meridiana like your daughter…and us." 

"We'd be all under one roof for the first time in three centuries," Harry stated. "Which we will need to be given the chances that very soon, a new British colony on another _**planet**_ may be established once the Seifukusu turn over certain solar systems to us in the near future." 

Bellatrix blinked before she nodded. Learning of the story behind her adopted race and what the United Nations — with the full support of the International Conference of Magical Communities — intended to do was just as mind-blowing as awakening on a _**space station**_ far above the surface of the Earth…and in an _**alien clone body**_ to boot! "Fifty points to Gryffindor!" she then joked. As people laughed, she sighed. "Chief Director, I have a question." 

"Your daughter?" Ragnok asked. 

"How can I make sure she properly inherits my family wealth?" 

A smirk. "As of this time, there is nothing that can be done. The various laws stemming from the Treaty of Ynys Môn that govern any sort of commerce between our institution and anyone who had the fortune to be taught their magic at Meridiana are quite air-tight, I'm afraid to say. As to _why_ this has happened over the years, I really can't say…though I do have some ideas, especially when you factor in the habit of Meridiana-trained mages of seeking out normal people to forge pactio bonds with. I know the Baroness of Ifield and the Countess of Mutuantonis — you know them better as Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass — have been instructed by Minister Shacklebolt to find some way to properly remove the restrictions by the time the next Wizengamot meeting occurs on Monday coming up. I suspect they may have something ready to go by that time. Here's what I propose you do in this case…" 

* * *

The Leaky Cauldron, a half-hour later… 

"My little girl…my little girl…my little girl…" 

There wasn't a dry eye in the pub as a sobbing Narcissa Malfoy tightly held her lovely daughter in a hug that was just as motherly as anything Molly Weasley would do for any of her own children. Her daughter-in-law Astoria Malfoy held her beloved son Scorpius — a cute boy of four years of age who looked very much like his father and paternal grandfather, right down to the platinum-blond hair and the grey eyes — in her lap as they watched this tender moment between Narcissa and Raven. Thanks very much to Draco's mortal fear of his own sister — a Meridiana-trained magistra magi who had apprenticed with the Lady Tsukuyomi and had nearly killed their father both in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and later at the Battle of Hogwarts — he had forced his wife to keep silent about Raven to Draco's mother. That — as Harry had planned — was all depending on there NOT being any accidental meeting between Narcissa and Raven at places such as the Leaky Cauldron. All it had taken was a quick call to Chudleigh in County Devon while Bellatrix was being given her new life to fix that; Raven Malfoy and Ron Weasley had been "friends with benefits" for almost a decade and Draco's sister was an unofficial magical coach for the Chudley Cannons. 

And now with several dozen witnesses seeing this "reunion"… 

"So you're saying it was the Curse of Hufflepuff that saved her?" Doris Crockford wondered as she gazed wide-eyed at Dedalus Diggle. 

"Saved a whole tonne of unborn witches from across Britain Riddle and his mates killed," the former Order of the Phoenix member stated. "Was a cryin' shame that she had to be sent to Meridiana to learn her magic; the Roll Book at Hogwarts couldn't lock onto her 'cause she was an Avalonian." He sipped his tankard of mead. "Pity that Ambassador Holmes' father is dead. I'd buy the man a drink if he ever came to the Cauldron." 

"Damn straight about that," Tom Dodderidge stated from behind the bar. "I know lots of people got scared when _Hood_ appeared over London last week…but if Avalonians are like THAT, Merlin bless them all!" He nodded towards the Malfoys and their relatives. 

"Pity they can't do a thing about allowing them to bank at Gringotts or inherit seats in the Wizengamot," Hannah Abbott — Tom was her godfather — mused. "Raven would be Draco's successor as head-of-house until Scorpius came of age. Raven's cousin Cassiopeia Lestrange could inherit the Lestrange seat now that her mother's been caught. Charlotte Crabbe could inherit her brother's old seat, too. The Meretrices are also back; the elder sister of that lot is Sally-Anne Perks' soul-mate." As people gasped, the blonde, brown-eyed Hufflepuff alumnus — she was the Baroness of Camden when she didn't tend bar at the Cauldron — sighed. "'Mione and Daphne are looking into ways to see if we can modify the Treaty of Ynys Môn to finally let people like Raven and Cassi become part of our society. Like it was before the Statute of Secrecy went into effect; everyone who was at or who once went to Meridiana all voted for the Separation Act when it was put to a referendum in 1692." 

"Bloody hell! Then why cut them off?!" Hannah's best friend Susan Bones — who was also helping at the Cauldron today as it was her day off from work as an auror or attending Wizengamot meetings as the current Baroness of Bute — demanded. 

"It was a stupid misconception about how we seek out pactios." 

Eyes locked on Raven, who was now allowing a shuddering Narcissa to lean on her shoulder. "I heard that you folks always went out to find muggles to make pactios with," Doris then mused before sipping her tea. "Is that true?" 

"Not any normal, Madame Crockford," Raven stated. "We'd always go seek out those who had high magical potential. A squib — as you'd call them here — would work for us as much as a full-blown magical like Ron would. He's my minister magi." 

"Really?!" Susan gasped as Narcissa gaped at her daughter. 

"Of course!" Raven said with a wink. "When Ron and I became lovers, a pactio automatically formed between us. It was because of that pactio link with Ron that I discovered the curse at the Cannons' stadium which put them at the bottom of the league standings for so long." As people gaped in shock — even if the Chudley Cannons had not won the League Cup for over a century and had become a joke to many quidditch fans across the British Isles, it was seen as VERY bad form to actually CURSE a quidditch team like that — she finished, "Pity the person who put that curse on the stadium never anticipated a person coming along who was trained to use a soulsword to get rid of it." 

"Good for you, lass!" an elderly wizard called out from a nearby booth. 

Others cheered and applauded Raven as she smiled. "What's going to happen now?!" Doris then asked Hannah. "If Hermione and Daphne are moving to renegotiate the Treaty of Ynys Môn, how soon could Bellatrix's daughter take her seat in the Wizengamot?" 

"There's no need to change the Treaty," Raven noted. "All that's really needed is to modify the Ministry Governance Act to remove the clauses concerning the prohibition of non-Hogwarts graduates from serving in the Ministry or dealing with the Ministry." 

"That's IT?!" Dedalus gasped. 

"That's it! Once that's done, the Treaty of 1779 between the Ministry and Gringotts would allow Cassi, Lotte and Libera Meretrice to claim their family vaults." 

"You'll vote for it, won't you?" Tom asked his goddaughter. 

"Damn straight I will!" Hannah declared as Susan nodded in agreement. 

"But what about Raven's brother?" Doris wondered. 

"Don't worry about Draco," Narcissa then coldly stated… 

…before the sounds of the portal between the Cauldron and Diagon Alley opening up made people turn as Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom walked in, they escorting a now-chained Bellatrix Lestrange. People instantly fell silent as the two men politely nodded to Raven and her mother before reaching the apparition point to transport Bellatrix to the Ministry. After the Man-Who-Won and his friend had taken the once-rogue hitwitch away, people exchanged looks. "What happened to her?" Doris asked. 

"Heard it was something related to what happened to Dora Lupin and Neville's parents," Dedalus noted. "You know about the Earth Angel helping them get back on their feet, don't you?" As people gasped on hearing THAT title, he shrugged. "Guess we'll learn what happened to her when Harry arranges for her trial." 

The others all nodded as Narcissa exchanged looks with Raven… 

* * *

Level Two of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, two hours later… 

"Prisoner Lestrange is secured and just had supper, Director." 

"Good. Did you make sure the proper arrangements were made concerning her?" 

Elaine Savage nodded. "The department's house elves are going to watch over her until she goes to her trial," the Chief Auror affirmed with a smile. "Anyone who tries to get in there to get at her is going to be in for a very rude shock." 

"Good," the Director of the DMLE stated as he scanned the notes on his desk. "I'm sure Kingsley would authorize a trial tomorrow given who we're talking about here. The sooner it's finally done, the better for all of us." 

"Azkaban?" Elaine asked. 

Harry gave her a knowing look. Seeing that, the older woman nodded in understanding; even if she could speculate on what would happen to a certain prisoner, she knew she could not speak of it in public. "I'll instruct Justin to ask for banishment for one hundred years from Britain," he said. The office's anti-animagus wards were up to stop Rita Skeeter from getting in to spy on what was going on; Harry had sensed the _Prophet_ reporter buzzing around Level Two when he and Neville had brought Bellatrix in. 

"Where will she go?" 

He gazed at her. "You're from a 'dark' family, Elaine. If you faced banishment from Britain, where would you want to go?" he then asked. 

She considered that for a moment, and then she gaped. "Merlin! HER?!" 

"You'll understand why I'm asking for that at the trial." He then perked. "Oh, by the way, get this over to Xīshèn, would you? I need that sent off to Mahora ASAP." 

He handed her an envelope with the DMLE badge in one corner. Elaine took it…and then nearly turned stark-white on seeing the name written there. "Harry…" 

"She's needed for testimony," he said with a wink. 

The Chief Auror gaped at him, and then she laughed. "You don't do things by half, do you, Harry?!" she demanded as she slipped the envelope into her robes. 

"If it's not worth doing all the way, it's not worth doing at all." 

"True!" 

* * *

The Atrium on Level Eight of the Headquarters of Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, Wednesday 14 July, after breakfast… 

"'Morning, Miss 'Mione! What brings you about this part?" 

Hermione grinned as she allowed the senior watchwizard of the Atrium, an aged veteran of Grindelwald's War named Eric Munch, to take her hand and kiss it. "Waiting for a special witness to Bella Lestrange's trial, Elder Eric," she replied, making him blush on calling him by such a title of respect. "You know Harry when it comes to…" 

A ringing noise then echoed through the Atrium as a column of light allowed a woman in a beautiful black man's kimono with the _mondokoro_ of the Moroboshi Clan on her tunic to appear. After the materialiser effect faded, Eric moved to intercept her. "Welcome to Her Majesty's Ministry of Magic, good visitor," he began…before his own magical senses — which were still quite sharp even if he was a peer of Octavius Ollivander — detected the awesome levels of life energy emitting from this person. "Lady Negako…?" 

The grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū gazed on him for a moment before her eyebrow arched in surprise. "Eric," she then stated as she relaxed herself. "You look well." 

"You two know each other?!" Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. 

"Eric here — as he was a veteran of the Battle of Nurmengard — was a part of a team from the United Kingdom who went to Japan after the cessation of World War Two to attempt to convince Tsukiko to admit to war crimes against the colonial ministries she helped topple during the conflict," Negako explained as Eric took off his bowler hat and bowed politely to the Earth Angel. "Unlike others of Albus' group sent there at the time, Eric showed considerable flexibility of thought when it came to Tsukiko's ultimate purpose and how many people she had saved from such repressive policies." She gazed on Eric. "I assume that is the reason you are still rated only as a watchwizard." 

A nod. "Yes, ma'am. Say one damned thing about how many people the Lady Tsukuyomi saved…and the damned stalebloods here thought I was a Grindelwald supporter!" A shake of the head as he moved to his desk to prepare Negako's visitor's pass. 

"Which is understandable," Hermione stated. "Grindelwald was competition to the stalebloods here in Britain at the time. Add that to what Tsukiko-sensei did…" 

She and Eric shared a chuckle. "Purpose for being here, Lady Negako?" he then asked. 

"Testimonial witness for the trial of Bellatrix Lestrange, as requested by Harold Potter," Negako stated as Eric prepared her pass. 

"Right-oh, ma'am. Here you go." 

Negako took the badge and placed it on her tunic's right collar. Hermione then nodded thanks as she escorted the ninjutsu grandmaster towards the lifts to the other levels. Looking around, Negako hummed. "You destroyed the Fountain of Magical Brethren." 

"It was transformed into a 'Magic is Might' monument when Rufus Scrimgeour was killed after Professor Dumbledore died in 1997, which allowed the Death Eaters to seize the Ministry and try to kill all the normal-borns," Hermione explained. "Most hideous thing I ever saw when Harry and I came here to destroy it a few days later at the Queen's command." 

Negako gazed on what now served as a replacement for the Fountain of Magical Brethren: A beautiful series of statues surrounding a large fountain, the beings guarding it from all sides composed of several types of sentients native to Europe. They included at the north and south points a witch and wizard in traditional combat robes with wands drawn for battle. At the east and west points were a man and woman in British Army combat uniforms with L85A1 rifles in hand and at the ready; no doubt, Negako mused, they symbolized squibs who served the Crown. Between the four magical humans depicted here were a goblin in full battle armour, two house elves in formal serving robes with hands raised to defend their master and mistress, a centaur rearing up on his hind legs with a drawn bow, a female werewolf in semi-humanoid form bearing wands with fangs and claws splayed, a male vampire with fangs showing and clawed hands raised to physically attack anyone that came at him, a mermaid rising from the waters of the fountain with a war trident in hand, a manticore, an acromantula, a troll with war club, a veela projecting flames from her hands…and a beautiful woman in a martial art gi-like uniform standing between the witch and the female squib, a pair of Lawgiver pistols in her hands. 

"Recent addition," Negako noted, pointing. 

"I put that in when I got the message about Her Majesty's Proclamation concerning the Avalonians back in April," Hermione said as she blushed on sensing the approval in Negako's voice concerning the newest part of the Fountain of All Equals. 

"How did Thomas Riddle's allies react to it?" 

"They hated it…especially after Harry enchanted the rifles the two non-magical magic-borns here have to shoot anyone who tried to destroy it," the normal-born witch answered. "And there is _this_ as well," she said as she pointed to the tall obelisk in the middle of the Fountain, which was emblazoned on all sides with the same phrase: 

_****_

La Reine Le Veult

Negako's eyebrow arched as she gave Hermione a look of approval at that addition to the Fountain. "'The Queen Wills It,'" she read the Norman phrase in English. 

"The one phrase whose power NO magical in Britain can deny," Hermione stated. "After we finished building the statue, we hid ourselves under Harry's invisibility cloak when Mister Thicknesse…" — she refused to think of that man as a proper Minister of Magic due to his very short term in office in 1997 and because he had been under the Imperius Curse while in office — "…and his aides discovered what happened." A giggle. "When the aurors tried to destroy the statue, they couldn't summon their magic to start blasting away. You should have heard all the cussing and swearing…" 

"It is fortunate for them that they did not succeed. If they did…" 

"They would forever lose their magic," Hermione finished. 

"Indeed. In the meantime, I believe there is a trial we must attend." 

The normal-born nodded as she beckoned the ninjutsu grandmaster to the lifts… 

* * *

Courtroom Ten on Level Ten, twenty minutes later… 

"Lady Malfoy, may I ask what you're doing here?" 

Narcissa Malfoy rose from her family chair. "Forgive me, Lord Chief Warlock, but my son developed a very serious case of spattergroit last night," she said as she bowed her head to Blaise Zabini. "As my son arranged when he took the family seat, I am to stand in his place whenever he is ill and cannot perform his duties in this House." 

Blaise nodded. "I pray you son recovers as soon as possible, Lady Malfoy." 

A nod. "You are too kind, Lord Chief Warlock." 

With that, Narcissa sat down. "Before I turn things over to Director Potter in his place as Chief Interrogator for the trial of the Dowager Lady Lestrange, I would like to acknowledge the presence of the Earth Angel, the Lady Moroboshi Negako of the Moroboshi Clan of the Imperial Province of Mutsu of Japan, now seated beside Lord Parkinson." As people in the crowd gasped in shock as eyes locked on the woman in black sitting beside Pansy's brother Michael, Negako nodded her head in acknowledgement. "And before people ask, her family is traditionally rated in Japan as the equal of a Noble and Most Ancient House here in Britain…and she is the personal servant and bodyguard of His Imperial Majesty, the Heavenly Sovereign of Japan. I'm sure those of us who have friends in Japan are aware of the oaths they must take in service of His Imperial Majesty." 

As people nodded, Blaise then turned to nod to Harry, who was properly robed in black with a hat to mark his current position as trial interrogator. As the Chief Warlock moved to take his family seat in the audience, the Man-Who-Won smiled. "I hereby declare this trial of the Crown versus the Dowager Lady Bellatrix Hester Lestrange of Barnet now open. March in the accused!" he said after taking his seat. 

The main doors opened to allowed a woman in formal robes to walk inside, her hands manacled. Two aurors escorted Bellatrix inside. On seeing the infamous witch, all the people there gaped in shock on noting the subdued look on her face; her words and attitudes at her initial trial before the Wizengamot in 1981 after being caught in the wake of the attack on the Longbottoms — and her vow to remain loyal to Voldemort despite facing a life sentence in Azkaban — were known to all. She didn't resist as the two aurors helped her into the defendant's chair, and then locked her restraints in place. Once that was done, the aurors withdrew to one side. "Do you wish counsel, Dowager Lady Lestrange?" Harry asked. 

"No, My Lord," Bellatrix stated, shocking the audience more with the quiet tone of her voice. "I will defend myself before this court." 

"So be it then. Chief Accuser, please read the charges." 

"As you wish, My Lord," Justin Finch-Fletchley said with a bow of his head. He stood off to Harry's right side. The normal-born Hufflepuff, whose parents owned a hotel chain based in Lincolnshire — and whose mother was descent from the Loyal House of Dorchester, who had been wealthy magical merchants before the line descended into squibs decades ago, thus forcing their vault at Gringotts to be sealed until Justin himself was allowed to claim it in 1997 — then turned to gaze on the accused. "Dowager Lady Lestrange, the Crown accuses you of the following charges: Treason Against the Crown; Multiple counts of murder in the first degree and second degree; Multiple counts of use of the Unforgivable Curses in all three categories; Conspiracy to overthrow the legal government of the land; Escape from lifetime incarceration at Her Majesty's Prison Azkaban; and membership in an outlawed terrorist organization. All charges that I have stated to this court concern all your activities between Sunday the fourteenth of January in the year 1996 when you fled Azkaban…and Thursday the twenty-eighth of August in the year 1997, when you were incapacitated at the Battle of Hogwarts by Matriarch Molly Weasley of Ottery Saint Catchpole and Magistra Magi Grace Longbottom of Holdenhurst…" 

"Objection!" a voice called out. 

"State your objection, Lord Nott," Harry bade. 

Theodore Nott rose from his chair. "Why is it that a known graduate of the Meridiana Magic Academy is credited for the capture of the Dowager Lady Lestrange?!" the current Viscount of Torridge — and a known member of Draco Malfoy's group of friends in the Wizengamot — demanded. "All the laws we have forbid any dealings with those…" 

"Objection overruled!" Harry sternly cut him off as his eyes flared with magic, making many in the crowd wince and Theodore pale as those green orbs locked on him. "The particular law you are referencing forbids any graduate from Meridiana from formally doing any sort of business with the Ministry of Magic and those institutions allied to the Ministry within the United Kingdom. At the time the Battle of Hogwarts happened, all protections given to the rebel ministry under Master Pius Thicknesse had been temporarily stripped by Her Majesty the Queen in her Magical Royal Proclamation declaring a state of rebellion against the Crown by the rebel ministry…and by unanimous declaration of the International Conference of Magical Communities concerning the state of affairs in the United Kingdom at that time. Magistra Magi Longbottom had every right in the world to be there and ensure her brother and grandmother would survive putting down the Death Eaters; that is why the official record of the battle has her name — and the names of all the other combatants from Meridiana who were there that day — imprinted on the record scroll." The Man-Who-Won's eyes then narrowed. "Be warned, Lord Nott: If you waste any more of the court's time in mindless filibustering, I will you fine you in contempt. Sit down!" As Theodore scrambled for his chair and many of the audience snickered in delight on seeing him publicly smacked down like that, Harry gazed on Justin. "Continue, Chief Accuser." 

"As you wish, My Lord," Justin stated with a smile before gazing again at Bellatrix. "As you were incapacitated by Matriarch Weasley and Magistra Magi Longbottom in 1997, your recent flight from the permanent spell-damage ward at St. Mungo's will not be counted against you, Dowager Lady Lestrange. Furthermore, your willingness to protect a Founder's Artifact in your family vault at the Diagon Alley branch of the International Mercantile Bank of Gringotts — specifically, the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff — after it was given to you for safekeeping by the late _Magister Maximus_ Thomas Riddle, also known as 'Lord Voldemort,' will weigh into the Crown's desire for punishment if you are found guilty of the crimes I have listed before." As people gasped on hearing that — the dark-aligned members of the Wizengamot were stunned on hearing the "mudblood" refer to the late Dark Lord by _that_ particular title — Justin then smiled. "Finally, there is the mitigating circumstances of you suffering three cases of soulsword backlash thanks to the Lady Moroboshi Negako's use of that weapon to free three victims — specifically your niece, Retired Auror Sergeant Mistress Nymphadora Arethusa Tonks-Lupin of the Corps of Law Aurors; Retired Senior Investigative Auror Lord Franklin Raymond Longbottom of the Corps of Law Aurors; and his wife, Retired Senior Investigative Auror Lady Alice Mary Longbottom of the Corps of Law Aurors — from a family curse you used on them in 1997 and 1981 respectively. This forced the Lady Healer Ellen Bonham, an Avalonian-Briton second-rank healer working at Ashford Hospital in the County of Surrey — per her healer's oaths — to have you undergo a body-swap and become a Terran-turned-Avalonian due to the horrendous damage done to your body over the years." As people gaped in disbelief on hearing that — any noise was silenced by a stern look from Harry at the audience — Justin gazed on his old schoolmate. "My Lord, the Crown will desire — if the accused is found guilty of the charges I have stated just now — to request banishment from Her Majesty's Realm for no more than one hundred years…or until such time as Her Majesty grants Her Mercy to the accused." 

"So be it, Chief Accuser," Harry stated. "Dowager Lady Lestrange, your plea?" 

"Guilty of all charges, but with mitigating circumstances, My Lord," Bellatrix stated with a calm voice, that making the audience stare in shock at her. "This is partially because of what the Chief Accuser stated just now." 

"So entered. Chief Accuser, do you wish to call witnesses?" 

"By your leave, My Lord, the Crown requests the testimony of the Lady Moroboshi Negako of the Clan Moroboshi of the Japanese Imperial Province of Mutsu." 

"You may proceed…" 

* * *

The Atrium, two hours later… 

"Dowager Lady Lestrange! A statement, please!" 

Bellatrix — now being escorted by Negako from the lifts after the end of the trial, which had concluded with a unanimous vote of banishment for fifty years from British soil unless granted pardon by the Crown — paused on hearing that, and then she smiled. She had been heading over to the security desk so she could be beamed out of the Ministry and into her life in exile from Britain. "Rita!" she called out as she gave Rita Skeeter a wave and grin. "Still trying to get the juicy stories?!" 

"Indeed I am, Trixie," Rita — she and Bellatrix were year-mates — said with a wink and a smile in return. "First of all, how do you feel about the judgement of banishment?" 

"It's just," Bellatrix stated in return. "When I woke up in St. Mungo's early Saturday morning after the Lady Negako used the soulsword to break the curse I used on both Frank and Alice Longbottom, I…" A shrug. "I fled from the hospital, of course. Tried to get into my family home, but my daughter warded it pretty good, so I couldn't get in. I stayed in Knockturn — at least, I THINK I stayed in Knockturn! — until I remembered my old bedroom at Grimmauld Place yesterday. I apparated there, which is where my grandnephew Ted found me. He got me to Healer Bonham and I was taken to Europa Station to have my body-swap done because she judged the damage to my body was too great to allow me to live any sort of healthy life as I was. After that, Harry and Neville came up to take me to Gringotts so I could retrieve Hufflepuff's Cup. Along the way, copies of my memories from my escape from Azkaban to when Molly and Grace knocked me down a year later were taken so that there are official records as to how many people I killed." 

Rita blinked. "You have no feelings at all…?" 

"No," the other woman announced with a shake of the head. "Does it give my niece — and by extension, my grandnephew — any justice? Does it give Neville and his family any justice? Does it grant anyone their justice?" A shake of the head. "I can't say. I know what I did was wrong…but the emotional content is missing. I know I can't make myself do that sort of thing at this time. As to the future, I can't predict; I'm not Cassandra Trelawney." As Rita laughed, Bellatrix shrugged. "I'm going now to Japan. Mistress Evangeline McDowell of Port Rois has agreed to take me on as her apprentice and keep watch over me while I try to make a new life for myself." 

Rita gaped. " _ **Evangeline McDowell?!**_ " She leaned up. "Do they know?" she hissed. 

"Harry personally asked her to take me on," Bellatrix answered. 

The star reporter of the _Daily Prophet_ gaped as an Illuminating Charm began to flash **PAGE 1 STORY!** deep in her mind. " _Harry Potter_ actually asked one of the darkest magic users in all history to become your new _**mistress**_?!" she demanded. 

"Tsukiko will be monitoring the situation, Rita," Negako then stated, the chill in her voice making Rita pale as she gazed upon Bellatrix's escort. "At Harold's request." 

Rita blinked in shock, and then she looked at her old schoolmate. Bellatrix shrugged. "I rather expected Harry to do that, Rita." A smile. "You take care! Come around Mahora when you get the chance, huh?" And with that, Negako walked her away. 

Rita watched her go, and then shook her head. "Damn…!" 

"What the hell is Potter up to?" her cameraman wondered. 

A sigh. "I don't know…but sooner or later, I'll find out." 

And with that, both headed off… 

* * *

The Isle of Lundy in the Bristol Channel (90 kilometres west-southwest of Cardiff in Wales), after sunset… 

"I wish I could have given you something else." 

The pale man seated in the living room of the Nott mansion located at the northern end of the island lying nineteen kilometres off the northern coast of County Devon smiled as he enjoyed the goblet of blood that had been given to him by his host. "Do not apologize, Theodore," the ancient vampire stated. "Yes, it was unfortunate that the Lady Lestrange was transformed into a crystal-blood and whisked away to Japan to be taught by Evangeline. But it is a small setback in the grander scheme of things." 

"There are still other Death Eaters available, you know," Theodore Nott mused. 

"Including your father," his visitor warned. 

The Viscount of Torridge waved it off. "He was a fool and bowed to a lying half-blood bastard child that pretended to be something he wasn't," he stated. "In doing so, he nearly destroyed my family along the way. As far as I'm concerned, Mason Nott is dead and no longer seen as part of the family." A smirk. "A present to your cause." 

"You are too kind, my young friend," the vampire said as he finished the offered blood. "There is one other thing that we have sensed." 

"Being?" 

"Voldemort himself." 

Theodore gaped. "Impossible! Potter ripped him apart in '97!" 

"He made horcruxi." A smirk. "It could possibly explain why Mrs. Lestrange got off so easily." 

The young lord gaped. " _Horcruxi_ …?" A chuckle. "Idiot…!" 

"So all we have to do is find what happened to the Cup of Hufflepuff." 

A nod. "It could be done." Theodore then gazed on his visitor. "Why are you so adamant about driving those aliens off the planet?" 

"With them capable of interbreeding with normal humans?" the vampire asked. "Why do you think we call them 'crystal-bloods,' Theodore? The mesonium in their regenerative enzymes — the very same material that was injected into the body of the Rail-Splitter by Josef von Taserich to save him in 1865, thus unleashing the 'Score and Four' that nearly destroyed every vampire in North America at the time — will spread to every human on the planet. Your kind would not wish to deal with a sea of metahumans, do you not…just as my kind can't survive without blood that's not touched by mesonium!" 

His blood-red eyes narrowed. "You've heard of the Yizibajohei, have you not?" 

Theodore shuddered. "A _metahuman revolution_ …" 

"It's best stopped before it gets started," his guest warned… 

* * *

The Leaky Cauldron, that moment… 

Hannah Abbott took a deep breath. "I'm tired…" 

"Well, if you want to head to bed…" Tom Dodderidge mused… 

…and then he tensed on sensing a powerful aura come towards the entrance to the Cauldron from Charing Cross Road. "Merlin…!" he breathed out. 

Hannah gazed on her godfather. "What…?" 

She then blinked as a man dressed in funeral black stepped through the main doors. Tall and gangly, he wore an ascot cap over a head of wavy dark hair that was partially combed over his rather large ears. Gazing at the youthful face, Hannah was quick to see that the man's head was canted in such a way to compensate for his left eye, which wasn't exactly focused on the same place his right one was. He was clean-shaven…which made Hannah wonder if he shouldn't have a beard covering his cheeks and chin. 

Wait… 

A _beard_ …?! 

Hannah then blinked as the stranger's hazel eyes focused on her before a smile crossed his face. "My heavens," he then declared with a noticeable American Midwest twang. "I haven't seen you since you were but a child, Miss Abbott." He then smiled at Tom, who was coming up to take his hand. "Please, Tom…my usual room if it's available." 

A grin and nod. "Right away, Mister Lincoln!" 

_****_

**_The End…For Now!_ **

* * *

**WRITER'S POSTSCRIPT**

_Another plot bunny that expands on what happened once Dora Lupin got her magic back and how it could have affected the person that nearly killed her years ago. This also gave me a chance to look back on the point of divergence for this universe when it came to the fate of Harry Potter once Yomigawa Tsukiko took interest in him during his fifth year. More will come…especially with a certain vampire hunter now in country!_

* * *

****

**WRITER'S NOTES**

1) Harry Potter's sister **Rose Potter** , Draco Malfoy's sister **Raven Malfoy** , Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter **Cassiopeia Lestrange** , Neville Longbottom's sister **Grace Longbottom** and others of the group of Terran-turned-Avalonian Meridiana-trained magi mentioned in this story are all characters I first introduced in my _Icemaidens_ stories. In the universe of this story, I speculate that Lily Potter and witches of her generation were pregnant at the time of the attack on Godric's Hollow on 31 October 1981…but would never give birth to living children. The Curse of Helga Hufflepuff mentioned here is this universe's analogue to the combination of the _Kokujun_ ("Shield of the Realm") ward stone spell-transmission system and the _Desidero Infantis_ ("Lost Child") spell introduced in my _Icemaidens_ stories. However, with the presence of the Avalonians in this universe, there was a much easier way to have those children brought back to life. 

2) Translations: **Minna** — Everyone; **-dono** — Japanese suffix honorific stemming from the word _tono_ , which means "master" and is above the polite "-san" honorific and below the very respectful "-sama" honorific in terms of level of respect…and is often used to indicate the head of one's family; **Freiherr** — Literally "free lord," this is the German noble title that falls in between a knight and a count, thus making it the equivalent of a British baron; **Bunka Go-nen** — The Fifth Year of Bunka (meaning "cultural achievement"), which is the Japanese year-date for the year 1808 C.E. on the Western calendar; **Surei'cha** — Literally "the one with whom you have a child" and normally translated as "child-mate," this is the person an Avalonian would select to father her child; **Magistra Maximus** — Literally "Supreme Mistress," this is the title for someone who has achieved TWELVE separate magical masteries (this would be seen as the step beyond the NEWT tests in Britain) which are legally recognized by any member state or community of the ICMC (the male version of this title is **Magister Maximus** or "Supreme Master"); **Potentio Mutiplo** — A spell prefix title meant to ensure the spell strikes multiple targets; **Morsmordre Crucio** — An application of the Cruciatus Curse on a Death Eater's Dark Mark (the reason this is done is that the Dark Mark is an _magical construct_ …thus, this gets around the whole legal and moral issues of using an Unforgivable on a living person as indicated by Raven and Cassiopeia in the flashback scenes); **Morsmordre Imperio** — An application of the Imperius Curse on a Death Eater's Dark Mark to control the bearer's actions; **-vayae** — Sagussan suffix honorific usually meaning "My Dearest" or other terms of intimate endearment; **dataPADD** — Literally **_data_ _P_ ersonal _A_ rchival _D_ isplay _D_ evice** (the term comes from _Star Trek_ , by the way); **Mei'na** — One's soul, all that is not of the physical body; **Examinamus** — A term derived from the Latin _exāminō_ ("I examine"); **Reportata** — A term derived from the Latin _reportātus_ ("report"); **I'sagh** — Healer/Doctor; **Thoughtmaster/Thoughtmistress** — The Sagussan/Avalonian title for a teacher (adding **-prime** to this term indicates a senior teacher, principal or headmaster/headmistress), which is used very much in the same manner as the Japanese use the word _sensei_ ; **In Loco Parentis** — Literally "In the place of a parent," this is the legal term used to indicate the legal responsibility of a person or organization (like a boarding school) who takes charge of a child when the parents cannot act as such for whatever reason; **Mondokoro** — Japanese term for a family crest. 

3) **Josef Wilhelm _Freiherr_ von Taserich** is an immortal in the same manner as **Hosan Hirosuke** (introduced in Part One). His birth-name is unknown to this day; the name he is known by is the Prussian noble name he assumed during the years that kingdom existed on the southeast corner of the Baltic Sea. He was quite older than Master Hosan, having well passed ten thousand years of age when Hosan himself was born five thousand years ago. He was the man who forged the **Übermenschen Gruppe** that was the main team of Axis non-magical metahumans who were active in World War Two. While his fate post-World War Two is a mystery, it is believed he is alive. Like Hosan, Taserich's blood is filled with crystals of ebony meson that effectively made him immortal. He is notorious amongst magicals and other mystics on Earth for allowing other people to be injected with ebony meson into their blood stream to give them metahuman powers. As stated in my other works such as _The Icemaidens and the Philosopher's Stone_ direct exposure to ebony meson will — if one does not have sufficient mental guards (such as a mastery in Legilimency) or has a strong will — drive someone totally insane. 

4) Location name notes: **Ynys Môn** — The Welsh name for the Island of Anglesey off the northwest coast of Wales; **Mutuantonis** — The old name for a Roman settlement believed to be located near the modern town of Lewes in East Sussex; **Kyme Eau** — Name for a section of the River Slea near Ferry Farm in the civil parish of South Kyme in Lincolnshire; **Chudleigh** — A village on the English Channel coast of Devonshire located between Newton Abbot and Exeter; **Mutsu** — The Japanese imperial province whose territory covers the modern prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori, plus the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita; **Port Rois** — The Irish name for the town of Portrush in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. 

5) The **Department of Magical Secrecy Control** (short-form **DMSC** ) is the modern name of the Obliviator Headquarters, which was part of the **Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes** ( **DMAC** ). In the post-1997 shakeup of the Ministry of Magic, the DMAC was subordinated into the DMLE and streamlined to ensure it could better work with its normal counterparts in the Home Office. 

6) It should be noted that stories concerning people such as **Lì Xīshèn** , **Ian Boot** , Ian's wife **Michelle Peakes-Boot** and **Sally Anne Perks** ' parents are based on what I created for them in the _Icemaidens_ stories without the influence of the whole Magical Sheriff concept. As I stated in Part One, Magical Sheriffs do not exist in this universe. 

7) As Rose is a _Negima_ Meridiana-trained "western mage," her spell to help Harry learn about the prophecy stored in the Department of Mysteries works this way: 

**Eien no Ai Ani-sama** (literally "Eternal Love for Elder Brother")  
This is the **activation keyword** that triggers Rose's magic (she uses her desire to finally be united with Harry to give her power to use her magic); 

**Mater Scientia, Minerva. Ad Se Me Alliciat** (literally "Minerva, Mother of Knowledge. Let Her Draw Us To Her")  
This serves as the **invocation** to draw on magic and divine influence to seek out the effect needed for the spell; and 

**Revelio Prophetia** (literally "Reveal the Prophecy")  
This is the **spell trigger** that actually casts the spell forth. 

8) Luna Lovegood being a Seer is pretty much fanon, but I felt it right to bring such a power into play in the flashback scenes here. 

9) According to _Negima_ manga canon, Negi Springfield was born in 1993…but since Meridiana has no age restrictions like Hogwarts does to invite people in to study magic, it is possible for people of different ages to be in the same class. Rose, Raven, Cassiopeia, Grace, Charlotte, Ariel and the other Terran-turned-Avalonian magi mentioned here are physically the same age as Harry, Draco and Neville. 

10) **Nerio** — as noted in Part 1 — is my name for the _Mundus Magicus_ introduced in the "Magical World" story arc of _Negima_. As I stated in _Phoenix From the Ashes_ and other stories, I do NOT accept Akamatsu-sensei's idea that Nerio is actually Mars under magical disguise. In the universe of this story, Nerio was formed when an asteroid slammed into Mars millions of years ago and literally sheared off half the planet's mass to form another planet. The life-bearing elements that were on Mars at the time were transplanted to Nerio, thus allowing life and magic to develop there. Mars, unfortunately, was rendered lifeless. 

As for the "beast-people" who live on the _Mundus Magicus_ such as **Collette Farandole** (who first appeared at the end of the _Negima_ manga story "All Negi's Got" [manga episode #202]), I decided to use the term **therianthrope** (combining two Greek words, _therion_ and _anthrōpos_ , respectively meaning "wild animal" and "human being") in the _Icemaidens_ stories to describe people like her and **Elaine Buckshire** (my own character, who first appeared in _Harry Potter and the Icemaidens_ ). While a therianthrope in the classic sense was a human who could transform into an animal (like the animagus transformation in _Harry Potter_ ), it struck me as a very nice term that fit people like Collette very well, so I came to use it. 

11) Cassiopeia's calling Hogwarts-trained wizards and witches "wand-wavers" is technically incorrect; Meridiana-trained magi also use wands as Negi Springfield shows…but the type of magic shown in _Negima_ tends to lend more to what would be seen as "wandless magic" in the _Harry Potter_ universe (which is a very hard skill to acquire), so the insult may have some basis in fact. 

12) The **Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)** ( **QRR** ) was one of the original infantry regiments of the British Army founded after the Restoration of 1660 brought the monarchy back to stay after the years of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. The second senior line infantry regiment in the Army during its existence, it was initially as "The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Foot" a year after King Charles II ascended the throne. The regiment acquired its modern title in 1921 and was amalgamated into the **Queen's Regiment** in 1959. As noted with the QRR's sister regiment introduced in Part One (the **Royal Sussex Regiment** [ **R SUSSEX R** ]), the modern 1st Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment ( **1 QRR** ) was reformed by Avalonian-Britons (such as Lucy O'Neill) as an element of the **Territorial Army** (the British land reserves) as a reserve battalion of troops that could both augment its full-time counterpart regiment (the **The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment [Queen's and Royal Hampshires]** ) when required…and also mobilise new battalions of the QRR if called to by higher authority. Regimental headquarters is in Guildford, the county town of Surrey, located 43 kilometres southwest of London. 

13) British prisons are divided into two large classifications: "Open" prisons (where inmates — on approval by the prison authorities — can go home after a set period and show no inclination of escaping custody)…and "Closed" prisons (where inmates are considered likely candidates to escape or are seen as too much of a threat to normal people). Open prisons are also known as **Category D** prisons. Closed prisons are rated from **Category A** for the worst offenders to **Category C** for those who are not trustworthy for an open prison but whose probability of escaping is rated as low. Per this rating system, **H.M. Prison Ford** is a Category D open prison, **H.M. Prison High Down** is a Category B closed prison and **H.M. Prison Bronzefield** is a Category A closed prison. 

14) The **Soulsword** (in Japanese, **Kontō** ; in Latin, **Animae Gladium** ) is, in the universe of my stories, the ultimate martial arts form. Forged of one's very own fighting spirit, the soulsword — I was inspired by the magical weapon introduced in the 1983-84 _Magik_ comics from Marvel — can literally kill on contact when the target is a normal person. When it is a person with a strong will or psionic/magical powers, the target is forced into a coma as his/her spirit is cast out into an astral form; this would grant someone time to allow the astral form to be reinserted back into the body…but there is a time limit for such (as shown in _The Senior Year_ story "Spirit-War Tomobiki"). When it comes to cases of possession or removing the effects of a magical curse, the soulsword literally burns the possessing spirit out of the body. As the curse used on Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin and Neville Longbottom's parents was a form of magical possession to suppress the soul of the target, the soulsword Moroboshi Negako used to free them of that curse literally restored them to life…but since the curse was powered by Bellatrix's living magic, a backlash occurred. 

As an aside, the **Spirit-Breaker Fire-Light** (in Japanese, **Seishin-Hasai Hi-Kōsen** ) attack is a projectile energy version of a soulsword that can only be used in situations such as destroying any possession or curse links between a target and whatever said target is in contact with. 

15) In _Negima_ , those who practice Meridiana-type magic are classified in several ways. Those who are seen as masters in their particular magical forms are addressed with the Latin terms **Magister Magi** (for men like **Negi Springfield** ) or **Magistra Magi** (for women like **Evangeline McDowell** ); the terms translate as "Master of Magic" and "Mistress of Magic" respectively. Whenever someone like **Miyazaki Nodoka** (to Negi), **Karakuri Chachamaru** (to Evangeline) or **Ronald Weasley** (to Raven Malfoy) forms a **pactio** ("contract") bond with a Magister/Magistra Magi, they are then designated as **Minister Magi** (for men like Ron) or **Ministra Magi** (for women like Nodoka and Chachamaru); these terms both translate as "Servant of Magic." 

In this part, I introduce a third term, which Tsukiko uses when she speaks to Percy Weasley in the fourth flashback scene: **Discipulus Magi** (for men) and **Discipula Magi** (for women). Both terms mean "Student of Magic" and would indicate people who have not yet achieved their mastery in a specific magical discipline. 

16) For those who don't know, the name **Knights of Walpurgis** was the working name JKR devised for Voldemort's followers. This stems from the concept of the **Night of Walpurgis** (known in German as _Walpurgisnacht_ ), which is a traditional spring festival usually held on 30 April or 1 May in communities across central and northern Europe. 

17) The term **Battle of Nurmengard** is the term I use to indicate the final battle between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. In the universe of this story, that battle would have occurred on Thursday 21 June 1945 (the summer solstice); it was this battle that effectively ended "Grindelwald's War" (the magical side of the European part of World War Two) once and for all. Nurmengard — whose actual location was never revealed in the _Harry Potter_ books save for it being "somewhere in Europe" — is located near the German city of **Münster** in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia about a hundred kilometres north-northeast of Cologne and 180 kilometres southwest of Hamburg. I chose this location for Nurmengard because Münster's old Roman name was **Monasterium** (from the Greek term _monastērion_ , meaning "monastery"). Given Nurmengard's isolation because of its creator and later most famous prisoner, such a connection seemed fitting to me. 

As well as being called the Battle of Nurmengard, the final fight between Albus and his would-be lover is also known as **The Battle of the Gates** ; in the mixed _Harry Potter_ / _Negima_ world of this story, Nurmengard village was also the site of a **world gate** between Earth and Nerio. In his rise to power, Grindelwald made an alliance with the **Mage of the Beginning** (who first appeared at the end of the _Negima_ manga story "Episode #1: Rakan's Journey, Continued Further…" [manga episode #232]), the supposed creator of the _Mundus Magicus_. Involved in this battle were magical and metahuman warriors from both Earth and Nerio, including the **War Hawks** (described in the notes of Part 1) as well as various immortals from the _Highlander_ universe; it was the self-sacrifice of one of those immortals' Quickening that ensured that the world gate at Nurmengard would be destroyed to prevent the Life-Maker from launching a magical invasion of Earth from Nerio. 

18) As the phrase **La Reine Le Veult** (when a King is the head-of-state in the British Commonwealth, the phrase is **Le Roi Le Veult** ) is the normal phrase used in the British government to indicate Royal Assent to a piece of legislation (outside spending bills), I decided to borrow the phrase to use this as the magical enforcement trigger-phrase for a Magical Royal Proclamation. All wizards and witches who hear this phrase are magically bound to obey what the Proclamation says. 

19) It should be noted that the exact birthdays of Bellatrix Lestrange and Rita Skeeter have never been revealed. Thus, it is possible that they may not have been year-mates while they were attending Hogwarts. 

20) The **Yizibajohei** (known to almost all throughout local space around Earth as " **They Who Must Never Be Named** " or the " **You Know Whos** ") are a race of metahumans living on a planet close to Elle (first noted in the first _Urusei Yatsura_ movie _Only You_ ). They are based on the Levramites from Jim Valentino's parody comic series _normalman_ from the 1980s. They have appeared in various episodes of the Anime Add-venture, usually in _The Doctor Is In_ storyline. I also made use of them in _The Saga of Coyote and the Tempest_ and _Manacled Dominatrix_. Of course, their nicknames are derived from the nicknames often applied to Voldemort in the _Harry Potter_ novels; their home planet, **Yiziba** , is always referred to as " **You Know Where** " or " **The Unspeakable Place**."


End file.
